Family series
by marcelb
Summary: This series assumes that Aeryn was pregnant during The Locket. What happens when Ennixx unlocks the secrets of wormholes? [on hold until I can find a way to continue]
1. Episode 1: Premiere

**Series:** Family  
**Episode:** 1  
** Title:** Premiere  
**Archiving:** Where do you want it?  
**Disclaimer:** Farscape and it's characters belong to smart and creative people. Though I am smart and creative, for some reason I do not own Farscape nor the characters therein. Must be an oversight.

**Notes:** To avoid spoiling you already, I am not gonna say much about the series, except that it will not contain PKW spoilers. This episode started it's life as a short 1300-word prologue, but the next episode raised some questions from my beta (the wonderful officersun524) and so the prologue grew into a nearly full sized episode (about 1000 words shorter as the average size of the other four ready to be beta-ed).

Well, enough talking, on with the show. Enjoy!

The room was completely dark except for the small lamp placed on the table where she sat. Her stylus moved at high speed over the paper, writing down countless symbols, numerals and operators. She had awoken in the middle of sleeping cycle with these strange things running through her head and quietly made her way down to the room where her husband designed new tools and machinery.

She'd been having these visions for over five cycles now, on average once a monen. It had taken awhile before she realized that writing them down helped her sleep the next night. If she didn't write them down, they would be repeated the following nights until she did.

"Are you having these visions again?" Her husband's voice came from the doorway.

She nodded without pausing. He had supported her these past cycles, trying to convince her there was nothing wrong with her, that she was a normal Sebacean who just happened to have these odd visions. She paused just long enough to look at him and cast him a smile before directing her attention to the paper again. "You really don't have to sit with me while I write this down."

"I know, but I do not like lying in the bed alone." He leaned back in the chair. She could feel his gaze on her face; her focus remained on the paper and her stylus. "I like watching you though," he said.

It was obvious he knew how important it was for her to focus on this task; he didn't interrupt her once. It took her almost a quarter arn to complete all the new information she had seen. With a deep sigh, she lay down the stylus and added the six pages to the large stack from all the previous times she had written down her visions. She turned her gaze toward her husband and took his hand in hers.

"Do you understand any of the things you write down?"

That was the first time he asked her. Briefly she wondered why he never had asked her before, until she remembered she had told him in the beginning she did not want to talk about the whole ordeal at all.

"No, I don't." That was a lie. She knew very well what she was dealing with: anomalies that were passageways between points in space and time. She was writing down equations to give her the ability to pinpoint an anomaly, stabilize one, direct one or navigate one.

It also showed her the danger of these anomalies if used in the wrong way. This fact alone was enough for her to keep it secret. Even though her husband knew she had these visions, he should never know what it could be used for and certainly not that she understood most, if not all, of it. "No," she repeated, "I'm just a crazy woman having strange, unexplainable visions."

"You are not crazy. You are a bright, beautiful and perfectly normal Sebacean female, one I love with all my heart."

But that wasn't entirely true either. Just three monens ago, an unusually hot summer proved she was not a normal Sebacean.

Mid-Day was the hottest time of the day, too hot for any Sebacean to be outside. Those who had tried had been affected with Heat Delirium, some even getting dangerously close to the Living Death. She, however, had no problem being outside in the heat. While her husband and all the other inhabitants of the village had to remain inside the cooled houses, she was able to go outside and have a walk or perform some tasks in their small garden.

She remembered the stories of her grandmother who had met an alien that looked like a Sebacean. That alien was also capable of enduring heat without ill effects. Was it possible her grandmother had been pregnant with his child, the child that grew up to be her father? It was unfortunate her parents where both dead, but both her grandparents might still be alive.

Perhaps it was time for her to leave this planet and go search for her grandparents. One of them might have the answers to the question of her origins and especially what she should do about the visions. Should she take her husband with her on this quest? Would he want to? If he would go with her, she would have to tell him the truth, both about her possible origins and the meaning of the visions. She should also tell him he might never return here, never see their friends and neighbors again. No matter what he would decide, she would go, she had no other choice.

"Dearest, are you alright?"

"Yes, I am, I was just thinking."

"I know. You were stroking your lower lip with your thumb again." He smiled at her. "Is it something you want to share with me?"

She sighed again. She should tell him, give him some time to think about coming with her. "I am not entirely Sebacean. Three monens ago I was outside the house during the hottest period of the day while everyone else had to stay inside. I was never affected by the heat like any of you."

"That does not mean you are not a Sebacean."

"Perhaps. But I remember the stories Nana told about an alien she met who looked like a Sebacean. He was not susceptible to the heat either. I think Nana loved him and he might be my grandfather."

"Even if that is true, that is not what was worrying you so much a moment ago. You have obviously known this some monens and I know you well enough to realize you have processed this information and the implications."

"You are right, my love, but it is part of the problem. I think the visions I have are linked to my grandfather. Nana once told me he obtained all knowledge regarding some kind of advanced technology. The knowledge was given to him but he would not be able to access it all because of the danger they imposed. He was to learn on his own, the given knowledge only a guide. He may have had that knowledge in his genetic codes and passed it on to his son, my father, who passed it on to me."

"That too is not what is worrying you."

"I want to go find my grandfather or Nana. They will be able to tell me more and I need to know what is going on, what the implications are for me. I want you to come with me but I should warn you that we might never come back here."

"Dearest, if there is even a chance of you not returning I will not let you leave without me." He smiled warmly at her and she knew he meant what he said.

But should she do this to him? From her grandmother's stories she knew it was a dangerous place and while Nana had taught her how to use a weapon and some fighting techniques, her husband had never done anything else but building and repairing agricultural tools and machines. And she wasn't that good at fighting and shooting either, especially considering she hadn't done either for over seventy cycles.

"I can manage, you know. You may never have seen me do it, but I have learned some fighting skills and I can aim better than anyone in the village."

How did he do that? How did he always seem to know what she was thinking? "I love you, Meric."

"And I love you, Ennixx. I will follow you anywhere."

"Then you can follow me back to bed. We will discuss our plans tomorrow."

Ennixx awoke early that morning, feeling her husband's solid frame against her back, his arm draped over her midsection. A smile formed on her face at just the thought of waking up next to him, even though she had done so every solar day for the past fifty-seven cycles. She still loved him completely, and she was certain he loved her equally.

But this time she did wonder if those feelings would change, now that they had decided to leave the favored planet, their lives behind. She was certain she would keep loving Meric until the day they died, but would he still love her? This thing would certainly show Meric that she had kept a lot of herself hidden, downplayed her character immensely.

Ennixx remembered how Nana had explained to her that most men on the favored planet would not be interested in a woman who liked to fly, explore or shoot weapons. So, Ennixx had kept that part of herself concealed the moment she had met Meric, over seventy cycles ago. She had immediately realized he was a gentle person and would certainly not be interested in what she was interested in.

Ennixx had observed that Nana was indeed correct in her assessment of the men here. She had even witnessed cases where the man would forcefully let his wife know she was not to do anything but take care of the house, offspring and light agricultural work. It must have been very difficult for Nana when she had first arrived, knowing she would be trapped here for a long time.

The last fifty-five cycles Ennixx had seen a glimpse of who Nana had been before she had arrived here. The microt Crichton, her grandfather, had arrived, Nana had changed, though her age had prevented her from doing many of the things she used to do.

Still, Ennixx was sure her husband wouldn't force her to stay in the background in case they did get in a situation outside the barrier. But would he still love her? Ennixx was unsure about that, though his comments last night did not indicate he would stop loving her. Maybe he would even be impressed by her. Yes, she should do her best to impress him with her hidden talents and skills.

Suddenly Meric's arm tightened around her, in a reassuring hug. Maybe it was more than just a reassuring hug, considering that his mouth was now traveling over her shoulders, neck and back. She started to smile again. "Good morning to you, too."

"Morning, dearest."

That was all he was willing to say, his mouth once again returning to kissing her back.

Ennixx slowly turned around to face him and kissed him in return. "You know, my love, we have a lot of work to do later. And we didn't get that much sleep last night."

Meric shrugged. "Since when has that stopped us? Or are you not in the mood?"

Ennixx snorted. "When has that ever happened? I was just looking out for you." She kissed him again. "Old man." She couldn't help but tease him.

Meric snickered. "You are not that young yourself." He was a little surprised she was taking over his attempt to initiate sex. Usually he was the one to bring it up, and though he had now, she was definitely taking charge.

Ennixx kissed him again and pushed him onto his back. "My love, stop talking, and I will show you how young I still am."

The last thought Meric had, was that his wife had definitely taken charge of their love life now. And he loved it!

"You were right, Meric. This is the perfect place to make our preparations. Are you sure our neighbors will not hear the pulse pistol firing?"

"I am unsure, but I doubt they will. We are not too close to the village, and the surrounding land is laying waste." Meric retrieved three knifes from his pockets and laid them on the nearby work bench.

Ennixx, having observed the seemingly casual way he had handled them, looked at him. "Have you been hiding some things about yourself from me?" The smile took the edge off the accusation.

Meric shrugged. "I am starting to wonder the same thing about you."

Ennixx chuckled. "You wouldn't be entirely wrong."

Meric nodded. "That's what I thought after our conversation last night." He moved some of the junk that was scattered all over the floor out of the way to create room for them to practice their fighting skills, and was surprised by Ennixx' help. She seemed much stronger than he thought she was. He grinned at her. "I guess you did not really need my help yesterday with that jar."

Ennixx looked down shyly. She had not forgotten her fear of his possible reaction to what she had been hiding from him but, within the blink of an eye his arms were around her.

"You should not feel ashamed, dearest." Meric kissed her gently. "You were taught to be the wife most men on this planet need. Perhaps I should have told you after we met, that that is not what I need." He kissed her again. "I just needed you, no matter what you wanted with your life or what you were capable of."

Ennixx looked back up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes, the same sincerity she had heard in his voice, and smiled weakly back at him. "There will be more surprises."

Meric nodded, and squeezed her a little tighter against himself. "I am ready to find out. I am just sorry you felt the need to hide them from me for all these cycles." He chuckled a little. "I guess I will have some surprises for you as well."

Ennixx' smile grew into a grin. "You know I always like your surprises." She kissed him, preventing him from making a comment.

Meric broke off the kiss. "I know you do, but this is not why we are here." He looked around. All the junk was now safely stored in storage compartments or at least lying safely against the walls of the largest room in the building. "I think we still have some mats in our attic. I suggest we go back to the house and retrieve them. You also need to gather the weapons you referred to earlier."

Ennixx nodded. "Yeah, they're in the big chest in the attic."

Meric's eyebrow went up. "I thought it only contained things to remember your grandmother and parents by?"

Ennixx nodded again, smiling. "Yeah. Nana's weapons remind me of her and her strength." Her smile wavered as she remembered her grandparents saying goodbye to her.

Meric kept one arm around his wife as they turned to the door. "I will do anything for you to find your grandparents. You will see them again, I promise."

Meric was barely able to keep the smile off his face. His wife was giving him orders! 'Meric, help me get that trunk on the floor!' 'Meric, take these downstairs!' Briefly he had wondered if he really did want to find out who his wife really was, but quickly came to the conclusion that this was probably a temporary thing, something she needed to get out of her system after keeping it inside for most of her life.

Meric was sure she would not revert to the quiet, obeying wife. He didn't want her too, either. He knew it was uncommon in his village, and probably all over the favored planet, but he had always felt man and wife should be equal partners, but never knew how to bring the subject up with her.

In a way, he had been a coward. He had been afraid of what the neighbors would think of him, if he would allow Ennixx to do as she pleased or involve her when a decision had to be made. He knew that was wrong. Their neighbors had no right to judge their relationship. But it had always been the one thing to hold him back. Probably the only reason he let Ennixx do it now is because they'd be gone within a weeken. He still was a coward.

Disgusted with himself for feeling this way, he sighed as he turned to go upstairs and help his wife carry the mats downstairs. He heard his wife sob before he reached the attic. Should he continue and see if she wanted to be comforted, or if she wanted to be alone with her memory of her parents or grandparents? A moment later he heard the crying stop. She was probably wiping her tears away.

When he stepped into the attic, Ennixx was still sitting on an old chair. The item in her hand told him exactly why she had been crying. He cleared his throat. "I think we should take it with us."

Ennixx looked up at him. "Yeah, I was going to anyway." She put the item in a side pocket of her grandmother's bag, the weapons neatly stored inside them. Then she picked up one half of the mats. "Let's get these things to our exercise room."

"Alright, I set the machine up. It will pop up a target at random intervals." Meric walked back to stand next to Ennixx, a button in his left hand. "It starts when I press this."

Ennixx grinned and picked up her pulse pistol, raising it to the target." Just watch and I will show you how to do this."

Meric raised a questioning eyebrow. "You think you can do this better than me, huh?" The twinkle in his eye showed her he was enjoying her show of confidence. "And what do I get if I prove to be better than you?"

She looked at him bashfully. "I do not have any possessions, so I will have to pay you in other ways. But what do I get if am better, as I know I am."

Meric grinned. "I suspect my respect and eternal love will not suffice as due payment?"

Ennixx shrugged. "Well, respect and eternal love are highly valued. Yes, that will do nicely." She grinned as she noticed that Meric had not expected that answer from her.

Meric's grin had vanished the moment he heard her agree to his terms. That would not do! Then he noticed her smirk and realized he had walked into her trap, allowing the grin to return. "In that case, I must make sure I win. I do not wish to give away my respect and eternal love so easily."

Ennixx chuckled and then turned to the targeting machine. "Meric, love, push the frelling button."

Meric's grin grew even wider. "Yes dearest."

Meric had found reason to adjust his earlier assessment of himself. He hadn't been just a coward for not telling Ennixx she was free to do as she wished, he had been a fool too.

Here they were lying naked on the sparring mat after the most thrilling sex he ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It was obvious this was just another aspect she had kept hidden from him. Out of fear of him. As it turned out, a free Ennixx was a bold Ennixx, one that took great pleasure in teasing him and making sure he was not able to do a thing about it.

But there had been two other surprises before that. Ennixx had managed to hit all targets, a slightly better score than he had managed himself when he missed two. The bigger surprise came when they started their sparring matches. Ennixx hadn't exaggerated her skills. Of the ten matches Meric had only won once. The last one he lost was also the moment Ennixx had decided to show him just what other skills she had been hiding from him.

She had confidently walked towards him, straddling his chest and pinning his upper arms to the mat. Before he realized what was going on, she had his hands tied down to a nearby hook just above his head. With no were to go, he could only lie down and admire her as she took of her clothes. Too slow he had felt at the time, but now he could admit it was just perfect.

Once her clothes had vanished, she had taken a bottle of water and brought it over to him, carefully letting him drink from the bottle. She took it away and let some of it drip on her breasts and then pulled his head to them, letting him lick the water from her skin.

After drinking a bit herself, she had put away the bottle, and slowly walked back to him. The movement had mesmerized him, her beautiful figure all bare to him, the movement of her muscles clearly visible.

Then the real teasing had started, with soft caresses of his chest and stomach, every now and then just dipping in his waistband for very brief moments. She had laughed softly as he had struggled to get his hands on her skin and taking of his pants.

Her hands had then followed the way they'd gone before, her tongue and lips going the same route as she licked and kissed his skin. Finally she opened up his pants. She didn't pull them off completely, but the motion gave his throbbing length the freedom it had been craving for a long time already.

He didn't know just how long it had lasted before both were sated, but it felt like arns. Thinking about it now, it probably had been arns. After their first coupling and subsequent release, she had untied his arms again. Meric had thought she had enough for now, but he'd been mistaken. Even before he'd been able to move his arms to embrace her, she was again caressing and kissing his body.

How many times had they coupled this afternoon? Four times? Yes, four times, every time with Ennixx in total control of their movements. Meric hoped this wasn't just a temporary display, like her ordering him around earlier. He realized he was growing hard again. Before he could ask Ennixx if she was awake, he felt her smile against his chest.

She looked up at him. "You want some more exercising, love?"

He felt her hand rubbing his erection and all rational thought fled his mind.

How dare they interfere with their lives! Meric was angry at their neighbors. Some of them had seen Ennixx moving some of their belongings from their house to the transport pod, though nobody knew a pod was her destination.

They had asked him if he realized what his wife was doing, and shouldn't he tell her that this was not her task. He had said that, yes, he was aware of what she was doing, and no, he was not going to tell her to stop.

But that wasn't the worst of his anger. His brother had seen fit to let Ennixx know to stop doing whatever it was she was doing. And he hadn't intended to let her know with words only. Neither Ennixx nor his brother had seen him arrive at the apex of their confrontation. He'd heard his brother's voice and then Ennixx responds to his brother clearly, telling him not to interfere. That was the point at which Meric was able to see them standing in their garden. His brother had attempted to hit her, but with much satisfaction Meric had seen his wife evade the fist and take down his brother with one swift move.

Meric yelled at his brother and made clear to him that he should never touch Ennixx again. Looking back, Meric could see the irony of the statement. Tomorrow they would be gone, so his brother wouldn't even be able to touch her.

Meric sighed. Neither of them had told anyone they were leaving, and he wasn't planning on telling anyone now. They would leave a note of course, to explain where they'd gone and that they didn't expect to return here.

Did other places have such narrow-minded beliefs as well? Why would his friends and neighbors not accept that women are entitled to a life of their own too? Why did most, if not all, of the men around him believe that women should be pressured into obedience and by force if they couldn't do otherwise? He wished he had let Ennixx know she shouldn't be the obedient wife she had turned herself into. She had probably missed a lot in life because of it.

"Meric, I really believe you should tell them in person. They are your family."

Meric looked at her. "They were trying to force you back into the obedient wife they thought you were, without even consulting with me first. I do not care whether they can say goodbye to us or have to find out through a note that we left."

Ennixx sighed. "They are still family. They deserve that chance."

Meric looked at her. "Were you planning on telling your cousins?"

Ennixx shook her head. "You know they do not want to talk to me, and yes, I have tried this morning to talk to them, and as usual they walked away before I had the chance of saying 'hello'. Your family loves you, and will listen to you."

Meric snorted. "If they had listened to me before, they would have known I was not looking for obedience and would not have tried to change you."

Ennixx looked him in the eyes. "Really? When have you let them know that is what you wanted?"

Meric turned his head away. "They should have known."

Ennixx gently touched her hand to his cheek and turned his head back to her. "I didn't know either, and I have been living with you for nearly half our lives." She kissed him softly. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"I do not think that will help the situation. They are still angry with you and if they learn we are leaving because of you, they may all turn on you."

Ennixx shrugged. "Perhaps, but if you feel more comfortable with me being there, I will come with you."

Meric embraced her. "I know, dearest, and I love you for it. But I have to deal with my family myself. It will be difficult enough to tell them I will be leaving, without the dren of this afternoon getting in between as well."

Just before Meric left their home and talk to his family, they showed up unexpectedly at the house. Meric opened the door and noticed the bruise on his brother's face were Ennixx had hit him earlier.

His older brother cleared his throat. "Meric, I believe we should have a discussion about your wife's unacceptable behavior over these last days."

Meric looked him in the eyes. "What unacceptable behavior?"

Bortan, the brother Ennixx hit, glared at him. "She did this to me." He pointed at his bruise. "And she didn't listen to me."

Meric turned his angry gaze to him. "And I have subsequently told you, you were not to touch her ever again and that this matter is closed. Nobody hits my wife." He looked his other brothers and cousins in the eyes, one by one. "Nobody."

Gorinc, the older brother, took charge again. "Perhaps you should have made it clear to her, this is not the proper way a woman should behave. You are the dominant one, you are in charge of her."

Meric shook his head. There was just no point in trying to convince them they were wrong. "I am sorry, Gorinc, but that is not what I want, not what I ever wanted. I fell in love with Ennixx for her, not because she would do as I tell her. I have let her pretend to be someone she's not for too many cycles. She is capable of so much more." He looked at Bortan again, hoping to make it clear that his bruise was not a lucky strike from Ennixx.

"And you allow her to whatever it is she was doing? You allow her to hit your brother?"

Meric turned back at Gorinc. "If that brother tries to hit her, then yes, she is allowed to defend herself. And as one of you has already discovered, she is quite proficient at it. This is our life, Ennixx and mine, it is none of your business, any of you, what we do and how to live. Now, if you will excuse me, I want a quiet evening with my wife."

Meric closed the door, not wanting anymore arguments. He also had no desire to inform them he would be leaving tomorrow morning and most likely never come back. It would only lead to more arguments anyway.

Ennixx and Meric closed the door together in silence. This was most likely the last time they'd see this place, and now that the time had come, it felt awkward to just leave it behind.

Silently Meric stuck the note of explanation on the door. Then he let his arm fall around Ennixx' shoulders and turned around. "Let's go, dearest. We still have a few things to do before we can leave."

Ennixx carried the last bag up the ramp of the transport pod. "This is the last thing." She dropped it on the floor, not bothering to secure it in a compartment.

Meric was already sitting at the co-pilot seat, looking in awe at the controls. He looked to Ennixx as she strapped herself in. "You can fly this thing?"

Ennixx nodded. "At least I could fifty-five cycles ago. I do not believe I have forgotten how. I've added the fuel my grandparents gave me from the transport pod that took them away from me. We now have the maximum range this transport can fly without refueling."

"You haven't flown in fifty-five cycles? Are you sure it is wise to fly then?"

In answer Ennixx powered up the engine. "It will only be rough while we are in the atmosphere. Once we are up there, you can unstrap yourself." She took the controls in her hand and carefully lifted off. Once they were clear from the ground she quietly spoke to herself. "I'm coming, Nana. I'm coming."


	2. Episode 2: First Steps

**Episode 2 – First steps**  
Timeline: starting after _The Locket_ but before _The Ugly Truth_.

* * *

"It's amazing this pod can still fly." Ennixx sat at the controls and piloted the old transport towards the barren planet. "It hasn't flown in fifty-five cycles. It hasn't even flown in the fifty-five cycles before that. It's only been used once in a hundred and ten cycles." 

"It's amazing you can fly it." Meric watched his wife in awe. He had always known she was special but the last few solar days he'd seen how she had hidden a lot of her abilities, even from him. There'd been other surprises as well. For instance the pulse pistols and rifle she had hidden in the old trunk she had insisted only contained things to remember her grandmother and parents. Technically that was exactly what was in the trunk; the weapons had apparently belonged to her grandmother.

"Meric, better strap yourself in, my love. We're approaching the mist and I remember both Crichton and Nana saying it can be a bit rough."

Meric sat in the seat next to her and fastened the restraint. "Are you sure the mist opening will be there?"

"Oh, it's going to be there. I'm just not sure if it's going to be there _now_ or an arn later."

Meric shook his head. Ennixx had definitely changed from the somewhat shy woman to a cocky one, one that found great pleasure in teasing him. The smile in her voice told him she was indeed teasing him and that the opening would be there. His wife had changed in the previous solar days and he loved all of it. He loved her even more now than ever before.

"Ready?"

Meric nodded. "Yes. Let's go find your grandparents."

* * *

Ennixx carefully piloted to the point in the mist directly above the barren planet. The closer they got, the more worried she became. She could still not see the opening. She checked her position and heading again to be certain she was in the right spot. It all seemed to be right, unless the navigational sensors were damaged or knocked out of alignment. She decided it would be best to land on the barren planet and check the equipment. 

"I see the opening forming!"

Ennixx looked back up, slightly startled by her husband's exclamation. "I told you it would be there." She sensed Meric turn his head towards her. He must have heard the relief in her voice. Perhaps she wasn't as confident as she had tried to appear.

"Hold on to something. I have to fly at high speed through the opening if we want to come out on the other side of the mist."

"Why?"

"If I go too slowly we might get stuck."

"What?"

"Don't worry. I'm sure this transport pod is fast enough to clear it." Ennixx made some final changes in their course and pushed the old transport pod's engine to its limit.

The moment they entered the opening, Ennixx heard a distant, soft hum in her head and her surroundings seemed to slow down, allowing her to see different pathways. Not knowing which way to go, she simply chose one that seemed the most logical. Again the path divided in multiple other paths, and again she chose the one that seemed to be opposite the entrance.

She maneuvered the transport pod though the maze of pathways, continuously following the hum in her head. Halfway through she got the sensation someone was observing her from outside the pod but she quickly dismissed it. No being could be outside without the protection of a ship. There were many forces outside that would rip through any space suit.

Finally they cleared the mist. Ennixx noticed a very annoying sound that seemed to be originating from within her. At least Meric didn't indicate he heard such a sound. She'd heard it all the way traveling through the opening but it was at its loudest now. Throttling the engines back, Ennixx slowly turned the pod around to survey their surroundings until they were facing the mist.

"The opening seems to be gone."

"No, it's still there, deeper into the mist." Ennixx continued to turn the transport pod around, both to survey their location visually and in hopes of seeing the Leviathan Moya if she happened to have stayed in the area for a while. "Nothing." It came out in a near whisper as she checked the pod's limited sensors. "No trace of a Leviathan ever passing here."

"But if they have been in the mist and left it again, you should be able to detect them."

"I should, but I don't. I don't understand it."

"Perhaps they exited the mist at the other side?"

"Impossible. Nana and Crichton told me Moya was unable to travel further into the mist and she wouldn't fit through the opening. They must have reversed course to get out. We used the same opening so they must have come through here…" She paused. "…unless the opening is not fixed at the outside of the mist and every time it reopens it's in a different place. We can't fly around it without refueling though. We must first find a planet to purchase fuel and other supplies. I hope our currency will be accepted in this part of the universe."

Meric had searched for a nearby planet while Ennixx was scanning for the Leviathan. "I found two possible planets. The first one is the closest but seems devoid of activity and population. The second has several ships in orbit but is the furthest away."

Ennixx looked at the data Meric had collected and nodded her assent. "The second will certainly be the most likely place to get what we need. It's also at the limit of our range with the fuel we still have. Whichever we choose, it's the only option we have."

"Then I choose the second planet."

Ennixx once again nodded and piloted the transport pod in the direction of the planet.

* * *

Their engine had been damaged during the escape from the mist and had finally given out completely, halfway between their starting point and the planet. Fortunately a ship had detected them and the captain had offered to pull them into the docking bay.

"You were lucky we detected you. This is not a common traffic route." The captain of the ship had met them in the cargo bay. He was dressed in a black leather suit that looked military.

"My name is Meric and this is my wife Ennixx. We are thankful for your rescue."

"You can call me Crais. The ship is called Talyn. You are both welcome to stay in the crew quarters. Perhaps we can provide assistance with repairs to your engines."

Crais? The name sounded familiar to Ennixx but she couldn't remember in what context. She must have heard Nana talk about him but she just didn't remember what was told exactly. Talyn was also a familiar name, but it was quite possible that Nana told her which ship this Crais person was captain of. Was he an enemy of her grandparents or not? It was probably for the best not to tell him anything until she knew for certain. Frell, she wished that sound would stop so she could think more clearly.

"What kind of ship is this?" Ennixx asked while Crais led both her and Meric through various corridors.

"It's a Leviathan-Peacekeeper hybrid. Your transport pod seems to be of Leviathan origin as well."

Frell, how to answer that? "Yeah, I guess it is. We found it on a planet and it took us quite some time to get it space worthy again. It appears we have failed though." Ennixx hoped he would not ask her more about it and that he accepted her story.

"It appears so. Fortunately Talyn and I have extensive knowledge about Leviathan technology and I am sure we can help you repair this transport pod. From your trajectory I take it you were traveling towards Goldor?"

"If that is the name of the planet, then yes, that is our destination. We needed fuel and supplies."

"Very well. Talyn and I were also headed towards Goldor for supplies. It seems you are new to this region of space. We can provide you with star charts so it will be easier for you to find your way should you choose not to remain with us."

"You would allow us to travel with you?" Ennixx couldn't quite believe he meant it.

"Certainly. I... I am... alone aboard Talyn. I could both use the company as well as the additional help with maintenance. It would help you learn more about Leviathan technology as well."

Ennixx thought this could be a good solution, considering Talyn's higher speed, as well as the fact that he had at least one cannon so could better protect them. "I think we will stay."

"Good. I have assigned these quarters to the two of you. If you follow this corridor to the end, you'll find command at your left and my quarters at your right. I will be in command. I suggest you two settle in and meet me there." With a curt nod, Crais left the two of them.

Ennixx and Meric entered their assigned quarters. They were quite small. Silently the two of them stored their meager belongings in the chest near the bed.

"I'll go freshen up a bit." Ennixx walked to the refreshing chamber she had spotted. She looked back at Meric and smiled. "Talyn might appreciate it if the both of us freshen up at the same time; to preserve water."

Meric grinned back at her, seeing the mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Well, I don't know if we will actually preserve water. It usually takes us longer if we freshen up at the same time. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try it again."

* * *

"Yes, Talyn, I agree, but we must acquire fuel and supplies first." Behind him the doors to Command opened. He glanced backwards and acknowledged the arrival of the two guests with a curt nod before turning back. "Talyn, do not disobey me. We must make a stop here first."

Ennixx and Meric heard the beeps and chirps that apparently were the ship's answer.

"No Talyn. We must stop here. We'll make this as short as possible, I promise." Again some beeps and chirps were the only answer. "Thank you Talyn."

"You can understand what he is saying?" Though Meric was the one who asked it, Ennixx was very much interested in the answer as well.

Crais turned fully to them. "I do, but not in the way you think." He turned his head and pulled his hair out of the way to show them the device implanted at the base of his neck. "This is a neural transponder that links me to Talyn. We are both aware of each other's thoughts and feelings."

This only triggered more questions for Ennixx. "Is this the only way one can command a Leviathan?"

"No. Leviathans are usually bonded with a Pilot. The Pilot species and Leviathans have a symbiotic bond. Talyn is not a normal Leviathan. He was genetically engineered by the Peacekeepers with the sole purpose of acquiring a Leviathan with weapons and without the need of a Pilot to command it. Talyn is the only one of his kind."

"From your side of the conversation is appears he does not want to go to the planet."

Crais sighed. "No, he does not. He has detected his mother and wants to go to her immediately. He has not seen her for a long time."

"His mother? Leviathans can bare children?" At the same time she asked, Ennixx remembered Nana told her that Moya had bore a child as well.

"Yes, Leviathans are living beings and can procreate." Crais seemed to realize their knowledge of Leviathans was inadequate. "Talyn will provide you with all the information about Leviathan technology he has in his data stores. This may help you gain understanding of his systems as well as of your own transport pod. The DRDs have examined your pod's engines and found the cause of the breakdown. They are making repairs now."

"Thank you. I am not sure how we can repay you." Ennixx was slightly worried. What if he did want to be paid for his trouble?

"There is no need. The repairs do not require any new materials and therefore do not cost us anything."

"We do have currency but we are not sure if it will even be accepted here." Ennixx showed a few of the coins to Crais.

Crais took one of the coins and looked at it more closely. "From what I can see, these will be accepted almost anywhere. They will have a value of approximately twenty Kretmars, which is the most widely used currency." He gave the coin back to her and was interrupted with beeps and chirps from Talyn. "Talyn informs me we have reached Goldor and that the DRDs have completed repairs on your transport pod. You can fly it to the surface to refuel."

"Thank you, I think we will." Ennixx put the coins back in her pocket, accompanied by more beeps and chirps.

"No Talyn! Stand down your cannon! We will wait until a docking clamp becomes free."

This time Ennixx and Meric noticed the beeps and chirps were more frantic, agitated.

"Talyn, stop arguing and stand down your cannon, now!"

The Leviathan gun ship was apparently not listening and kept beeping and chirping.

"Talyn, you must obey! Look, a docking clamp is becoming free right now. Stand down your cannon and head toward that docking clamp."

Finally the beeping and chirping stopped and through the forward portal all three Sebaceans observed Talyn making his way to the docking clamp that had indeed become free.

Ennixx was more than a little disturbed by the whole ordeal. It became instantly obvious that Crais was barely in control of the ship. Remembering that Talyn was just a child and still growing, it might become increasingly more difficult for Crais to command him. Perhaps it was wise to obtain alternate transportation while they were on the planet's surface.

A slight jolt pulled her out of her reverie.

"Talyn has docked with the space station." Crais announced. "I will be making arrangements with the station officials to procure fuel and other substances Talyn requires. I suggest you take your transport pod down and obtain fuel for it there. I will come down later and see what kind of food and other supplies we need. We will leave in one and half arns. Do not be late."

Both Meric and Ennixx left command and returned to their assigned quarters. Ennixx gathered their belongings and without saying a word headed back to the docking bay, Meric following closely behind.

It wasn't until they were in the transport pod before Ennixx finally dared to speak. "We are not coming back here. Crais seems to have much trouble controlling Talyn and Talyn is too aggressive. I do not wish to stay and run the risk of being destroyed because this frelling ship doesn't know how to behave himself or listen to his captain." Ennixx powered up the transport pod and piloted out of Talyn's docking bay.

"I agree." Meric paused. "You were afraid Talyn might overhear us, weren't you? That's why you waited to tell me this."

"Yeah. I don't trust that ship. Despite his behavior and ignoring Crais, I think he would do anything he thinks might be what Crais wants. You heard what Crais told us; he's alone and wants company. There's no telling whether Talyn would have let us go. We'll just go down to the planet, get some fuel and supplies and wait until Talyn and Crais leave."

* * *

"Dearest, what is bothering you now?"

They had been sitting in a public drinking establishment for almost an arn after acquiring fuel, food and various other supplies. Much to their surprise, Crais and Talyn had transferred all their knowledge on Leviathan technology to the transport pod's data spools. That gave them enough information to find the supplies needed to keep the pod in flying condition. They had been on the planet for nearly two arns now but Ennixx hadn't stopped thinking from the moment they had set foot in the establishment.

It took Ennixx a while before her husbands words filtered through her brain. "Sorry, my love, but I have been thinking about Crais and Talyn."

"I hope you have not changed your mind. I am sure they have left by now. We are almost half an arn too late."

"No, I have not changed my mind, but Nana told me about Crais and Talyn and this is confusing me. Of all the stories Nana told me, only the Leviathan crew were friends, therefore Crais and Talyn were most likely enemies of my grandparents. But there was something else, something that I think is important."

"Perhaps Crais is a Peacekeeper? You explained to me that your grandmother was born and bred to be a Peacekeeper but was forced out when she met your grandfather. Could that be why the name Crais sounds so familiar?"

"Yeah, maybe" Ennixx once again reverted into deep thought. If she could just remember what her grandmother had told her about Crais and Talyn. Luckily the annoying sound was dying down rather quickly, allowing her to concentrate more on this situation. Perhaps the annoying noise was just an ill side-effect of the travel through the mist opening.

"Talyn sounds like a Sebacean name, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, Nana's father was named Talyn and... Frell! Nana named Moya's child Talyn! Crais was the man who stole the ship."

"So, you were right. Crais can't be trusted and..."

"No, you don't understand! Crais said Talyn found his mother. Talyn and Crais are going to rendezvous with Moya and we are not there!" Realizing they might still be able to contact Talyn and Crais, Ennixx quickly got up to leave the bar.

Meric also got up to follow her but in his haste bumped into someone. That someone was definitely not happy and grabbed Meric by the throat before the latter could even begin to apologize.

"You! You belong to that frellnik Shamur! He owes me quite some credits for stealing the merchandise he was supposed to bring to my customer. I want those credits, now!"

The someone was considerably bigger and stronger than Meric and did not bother to introduce himself. To be honest, Meric wasn't really interested in who he was. He was much more interested in being able to draw a breath in.

Near the door two men already on their way out stopped and glanced backwards to the loud voice and hastened to leave the bar.

"Release him, now!" Ennixx had put a gun against the someone's head, who in turn turned his head towards her.

"You work for Shamur as well. I want to be reimbursed for the lost merchandise. Pay me now and you can leave. If you do not pay, one of you will die here and the other will work for me." He released his grip on Meric's throat but kept him in place easily.

"Who the frell are you?" Ennixx had no idea what to do with this situation. This guy was extremely strong and very angry with someone she didn't know.

"I am B'Xam."

"Alright, B'Xam, I am Ennixx and this is Meric. Who is Shamur?"

"You do not know your employer?"

"We do not even have a job. We just came to this planet for fuel and supplies and were planning on leaving again right now until you interrupted our departure."

"Hmm. I think you are lying. I know Shamur uses Sebaceans. You are the only Sebaceans here. You must work for him."

Ennixx snorted. "Now that's smart thinking. What would happen if another Sebacean would step in right now? Would you accuse him for working for this Shamur person as well? What if another dozen Sebaceans walk in? This is ridiculous. We don't know this person so you can just let us go." From the corner of her eye she noticed Meric had reached for his knife, preparing himself should this get any worse.

B'Xam was not impressed with Ennixx's speech. "I will not let either of you go until I obtain the five thousand Kretmars Shamur stole from me."

Ennixx thought B'Xam was either very stupid, which was possible, or was trying to steal currency from them. Either way, this had to end quickly. A plan formed in her mind. "Shamur didn't steal a thing, did he?" B'Xam's reaction was enough to indicate she was right, though not important to her plan. With a quick and efficient move, her left leg was positioned behind him, while her pulse pistol slammed into his face.

Meric, seeing the move Ennixx was going to execute, helped her by standing up and slamming his fist into B'Xam's chest, opting to not use the business end of the knife just yet. The combined force of Meric's punch and Ennixx's pulse pistol slammed into his face was enough to have B'Xam lose his balance and fall backwards on the floor over Ennixx's leg.

Ennixx and Meric were almost out the door when B'Xam was already in pursuit. Once Ennixx and Meric were out the door they were pulled aside by two men, providing another man with a clear shot at B'Xam as he came barreling through the door.

"That should leave him unconscious for a little while." The man who'd grabbed Ennixx looked almost Sebacean, as did the one who'd grabbed Meric. The nose and ears were different from Sebaceans, but the skin and basic form were alike. The man who shot the pursuer was definitely Sebacean.

"We better get out of here." Ennixx had to agree with the man, who released her as he asked, "Do you have transportation off this planet?"

"Well, we have an old Leviathan transport pod." Ennixx decided that a faster ship would be better, especially if that brute was going to follow them, and hoped they would suggest an alternative.

"If you need faster transportation you should fly your transport pod to the second planet of this system. Our ship will be waiting in orbit there if you want to come with us."

"Thanks, we accept." Ennixx hoped they wouldn't have to deal with a violent Leviathan hybrid this time.

* * *

The new ship was not a Leviathan and had quite a large crew. The crew, or at least the part they saw, was made up of various species but the Sebacean looking species that had saved them on the planet were the most common. The two males from the planet had come to the docking bay to greet them.

"Welcome aboard the Zirna. My name is Zyr and this is Starem."

"I'm Meric and this is my wife Ennixx."

"You are mated. So you are not Peacekeepers then." Starem looked at Zyr before he turned back to the couple. "May I ask where you come from."

"We would rather not disclose our origin." Ennixx did not intend to tell anyone where they came from, certainly not before she was certain they could be trusted.

Starem and Zyr both indicated they didn't mind. Zyr motioned ahead. "Come, we will escort you to the captain's private quarters."

Ennixx and Meric followed the couple through corridors and on level risers. Ennixx did have questions though. "Forgive me for being ignorant, but what species are you?"

Zyr didn't seem to be surprised at the odd question. "Starem and I are Tavleks. You may have heard of our species as being brutal, but those are Tavleks who live in exile. A long time ago, our species were going to war and we needed an elite force. To this end we created a special weapon which injected a drug into the wearer of the weapon. Unfortunately the drug is highly addictive and increases aggressive impulses. When our leadership went into negotiation for peace, the elite force disobeyed the order to retreat and made an attack. As punishment the elite force was then forced to live in exile."

Meric listened to it and spotted a potential danger. "Aren't you afraid they will come back to your home world and take revenge?"

"It is a possibility. However, the drug leaves radioactive trace elements in those who were injected with it. The elements linger for dozens of cycles, even after not using the weapon. Every vessel of our species is equipped with tracking devices that can locate those affected by the drug. If they do try to return to our home world, they would be spotted monens before they would get near it."

Ennixx's mind was already going over her grandmother's stories. The name Tavleks had been familiar as well as the drug injecting weapon. At some point Nana and the rest of the Moya crew had come across these people.

The door to the captain's chambers opened when another question came to Ennixx's mind. "Would you be able to trace people of other species if they had worn the weapon for a brief period of time?"

The captain himself chose to answer that question. "Yes, we can. You have a very small trace of the radioactive elements as well, but it is not enough to indicate you have worn it at any time. I would say you obtained it from an ancestor."

Ennixx was shocked. She remembered Nana telling her that she had worn the weapon, but to hear that the trace elements are also passed on to the children was quite shocking.

The captain continued his explanation. "My guess is you obtained it from Officer Aeryn Sun or John Crichton. Perhaps even both. We have learned that both of them, as well as the Luxan Ka D'Argo, have worn the gauntlet and we have been following them. We will try to catch up to them and purge their systems of the trace elements."

"Why is that important? And why do you even think that these two people could be my grandparents? I'm hundred and thirty four cycles old and you have only been following them for a cycle." Ennixx smiled inwardly, proud to remember enough details about the story to remember how long ago her grandmother wore that weapon.

The Tavlek captain smiled. "I have never claimed they were your grandparents, though I did suspect that. I have also not mentioned how long we have been following them. The purging is not important but will remove them from our scanning device. You know... it is strange how you suddenly showed up on our scanning device at the same location where Moya had passed forty arns before."

"Forty arns?" Hadn't Nana explained that fifty-five cycles inside were equivalent to eight arns outside?

"Ah, you expected only eight, correct?"

Ennixx nodded. It seemed this person knew more about her and the whole situation and she really wanted to know what was going on.

"It appears you exited what is known as a Center Halo, a disruption in the time continuum. Our Delvian Pa'us detected a reversal of time which indicated that certain events had been undone."

Ennixx understood what had happened. "They reversed course but because they were trapped in the barrier they pulled time with them."

The captain beamed. "Precisely! After they exited, time resumed its normal course but this time they did not enter the stellar mist. According to our intelligence they have a Delvian Pa'u and a Stykera aboard. They would have been able to extract themselves from the time continuum and remember all the facts and thus prevent events from happening again."

"But if from their point of view this never happened, how could I be alive?"

"That I found puzzling too. It appears that a Center Halo is much more than a disruption in the time continuum. Some rumors indicate that through every entrance into the Center Halo our world splits into an infinite number of universes. This would make it possible for the crew of Moya to remember nothing and yet for you to live on."

Ennixx could not believe what she heard. Nana and Crichton were not only completely unaware of her existence, they were also young again; younger than her. Well, at least it explained why Crais and Talyn were young. They were the same ones Nana had told her about. While mulling over the information some more she came to another startling revelation. It appeared Center Halos were much like the anomalies whose equations kept appearing every monen. Were Center Halos the anomalies she had learned about or were they merely related to each other?

"Excuse me captain," Meric said, "But I do not think you've told us your name yet."

"Ah, excuse me for the rudeness. I am captain Shamur of the freighter Zirna. I do not think I was given your names either."

"I am Meric and this is my wife Ennixx. You are the one the creature on the planet was talking about."

"Yes, my two lieutenants told me about that situation. That frelling Luxan uses my name regularly to try to obtain credits from unsuspecting people. You two are the first though that dealt with him quite efficiently without having to pay him or get killed."

"Well, we did get help from your crew." Meric had a revelation of his own. "They were there for us, weren't they?"

"For your wife, yes. We were interested in who had come here and what your intentions are. I think you are looking for your grandparents, correct?"

"Yeah. I have some questions for them, but now I'm not so sure that is a good idea. They don't remember me and probably won't believe me."

"Maybe they will. Although it's not their primary memory, they have lived their lives inside the Center Halo and those memories are stored in them. They're not easily accessible but seeing you or hearing stories about their lives from you might allow them to access those memories. You are, however, invited to remain with us for as long as you like. Though Moya is not our main concern, we will try to remain close to them. In the mean time Zyr will escort you to your quarters. I would like to ask you, Ennixx, to go to the med bay and purge the trace elements. It only takes a few microts and will not have any ill effects."

Ennixx looked at Meric to gauge his thoughts on the matter. "I will, but only if Meric is allowed to remain with me."

"Certainly. There are a number of former Peacekeepers aboard this vessel as well. They have given this crew hand to hand combat lessons and you might be interested in that as well. There are also some techs aboard to teach you some of the technology in this universe. You are free to leave at any time, but I will expect your help on this ship as long as you remain here. I'm sure we can find proper crew assignments for both of you."

Ennixx thought this didn't sound too bad. The extra training for them would be of great value, as would the information on various technologies. "Alright, captain, we will stay. For now."

Zyr motioned them to follow him. "Captain Shamur is a reasonable man and he understands your uncomfortable feelings. I too suggest you to follow the hand to hand combat lessons. This universe is harsh and if or when you leave you'll be glad to have learned these techniques."

Ennixx and Meric followed Zyr to the med bay, doing their best to remember the route but failing miserably.

Once they entered the med bay the med tech, a Sebacean, greeted them. "Ah, the captain informed me of your pending arrival. I have prepared the injection that will purge the trace elements from your system. If you could please sit here; the injection might give you a slightly dizzying feeling and I would not want you to fall." The med tech had preceded them to a normal chair and grabbed the injector from a nearby table. "As I inject this, you will feel a slight tingle." He immediately depressed the button, shooting the injection into Ennixx's system.

Ennixx did feel the tingle, but no dizziness at all. After a few microts she looked to the med tech. "Is that all?"

"Yes, the trace elements will leave your system. You should be rid of them by tomorrow morning. No dizziness?"

Ennixx shook her head. "No, I feel fine."

The med tech gave a satisfied nod. "Good, good. Now, I understand you are new to this region. If you like I can give you some files on the various species you may encounter. They might be helpful when you have to deal with other species."

Ennixx agreed. "We would appreciate that."

"Very well, I will send them to your quarters before the end of my shift."

Ennixx and Meric said goodbye to the med tech and followed Zyr to their quarters.

"Do not worry about losing your way. As you can see there are colored markings on the walls. In your quarters you will find a list of those markings and what they mean. It may take you a few arns to learn, but you will be able to find your way throughout the entire vessel without problems. We will also provide you with personal comms devices and a personnel list. I realize this is a lot of information to process, but you will have more than enough time to learn them if you want to. Here we are, your quarters. The captain has invited you to join him for third meal in his private chambers. I will come to escort you in two arns." He opened the door for them and returned on his way to, presumably, command.

Ennixx and Meric, for the second time that day, scanned their quarters. These were roomier than those on Talyn. Besides storage space, a bed and their own refreshing chamber, it also contained a rather large desk and two comfortable looking chairs.

Ennixx walked to a storage cabinet and opened the top drawer. "Oh, this must be our comms devices. Nothing else in there, but there's more than enough room for our clothes." She closed the top drawer and opened the second drawer. "Empty. You want the top drawer, love?"

"Yeah, sure. I found the list of markings. The ship is divided into colors and each color in five sections, designated by a geometric shape. Markings on the left walls indicate where the corridor leads to from your perspective, on the right indicate destinations in the opposite direction. Crew quarters are all in the green areas of the ship, command is red-square. Might take us a while to memorize the colors and sections but it should be possible to find our way throughout the ship."

Ennixx had made her way to the bed her husband was lying on and looked at the list. She had told Meric that since the visions had started her memory had vastly improved, allowing her to remember virtually anything she saw or heard. It was just unfortunate that didn't help her with things she was taught before the visions started, for instance all the stories Nana had told her. It took her a single reading to remember every location. "Now I know them all."

Meric kissed her. "I guess I should stay with you then if I don't want to get lost."

Ennixx pouted. "You make it appear as if you don't want to be with me."

"On the contrary, dearest. But I prefer staying here instead of roaming the ship."

"Oh, really? I was just thinking about taking another shower."

"We could do that later. If we have time left, of course."

"You have big plans for me, huh?"

"Yes, starting with making you stop talking."


	3. Episode 3: Very Important Cargo

**Episode 3 – Very Important Cargo**  
Timeline: Starts between _Liars, Guns and Money_ part I and _Liars, Guns and Money_ part 2, ends at the start of _Die Me, Dichotomy._

* * *

The Zirna was on its way to retrieve its next cargo. They were merely given a set of coordinates of where to pick up the cargo and another set indicating where to transport it. In addition, the buyer had requested to be notified when they had made the pick-up, using an encoded tight-beam communication. 

Shamur had been more than a little reluctant to perform this job. Whenever you were only given coordinates to a destination and no information regarding the cargo, you basically put yourself and your crew at risk. In the end, he had decided to accept it because they needed the currency. He had the crew on alert because they still had no idea where they were going and what their cargo was.

* * *

Ennixx and Meric had vastly improved in hand-to-hand combat during the weeken of training. Though they were the oldest Sebaceans on the vessel by far, they had more stamina than any of the other crew and their reflexes were among the best on the entire ship. 

Besides the combat training, Meric had chosen tech as his field of expertise. This was close to what he used to do back home, when he designed, built and repaired agricultural tools and machines. He had received lessons from, according to the man himself, the best tech in known and unknown space. He was indeed a very good tech and very patient in teaching his pupil.

Ennixx had been chosen for pilot training. During combat training, one of the pilots had observed her and had been impressed with her fluid movements and fast reflexes. She had approached Ennixx after the training and asked her to take part in pilot training as well. Ennixx had proven to be a very good pilot. A former Peacekeeper Prowler Pilot claimed that she might be the best Prowler pilot he had ever seen.

Today both would take the final test in basic hand-to-hand combat. Ennixx was matched up with a Sebacean male not even a fourth her age. The Sebacean male was far stronger than her and quite a bit larger as well, but Ennixx had been training hard and knew she could beat him, especially after learning a few tricks on her own. The sparring match lasted for almost a quarter arn before Ennixx managed to knock the Sebacean unconscious.

Meric had to fight a Luxan named T'Irna who had quickly become his best friend during the last weeken. Meric had learned about Luxans and was aware T'Irna could use his tongue to knock him out. Still, Meric got lucky right at the beginning, managing to knock the Luxan out after a mere ten microts. T'Irna had decided to charge Meric right away but had not anticipated Meric would step out of the way at the last possible moment to spin around and kick the Luxan hard in the back, sending him sprawling into the wall hard.

* * *

Shamur found out where they would be picking up their cargo and felt even less compelled to complete the job. He wasn't worried about making the pick-up, but the delivery was giving him doubts. Additional steps were to be taken to make sure everything would go well. Perhaps the crew should be informed as well, but before he would do that, he would need to discuss the situation with his highly ranked crew first. Still, one piece of information was missing, and it might prove to be the key to this puzzle.

* * *

Ennixx was finally flying the highly modified Prowler. Ever since she started pilot training, she felt like her life was finally complete. She loved to fly and, according to her instructor, she had a natural talent for it. Ennixx assumed she had inherited that trait from her grandmother, who had been one of the best Prowler pilots as well. 

The modified Prowler had a more powerful engine and a pulse canon attached to the nose. Some technology had been installed that made it possible to fly tighter corners than would have been possible in a normal Prowler, at least without the pilot blacking out or being killed.

Ennixx pushed the engine output to its maximum and sped toward the asteroid field she as directed in order to navigate through as fast as she could. As she got closer, she decreased the power output to three quarters; about the same as the maximum output on a normal Prowler. She dove into the asteroid field at that speed, continuously searching for openings she could use to continue her path to the other side of the field. She flew through a few very tight openings but never decreased the power output any further. Without so much as making a scratch on the paint coat, she exited the field exactly opposite the location she had entered it.

Her comms crackled to life. "Well done, Ennixx! That was definitely the fastest anyone has ever flown through any asteroid field and this one was particularly dense. Very impressive!"

Ennixx smiled at the praise coming from her instructor. "Thank you, Daren. Would you care to try this field as well?"

"That I would, but I doubt I would try to fly that fast."

Then the voice on the comms changed to that of her husband, causing Ennixx's smile to grow even bigger. "Ennixx, dearest, did you have to fly that fast?"

"Yes, my love. The faster I flew, the quicker I could return to you."

* * *

Shamur's tension was increasing by the microt. He had learned who was waiting for the cargo and that was making things worse than they already were. He was puzzled. The items seemed to have no purpose for the buyer at all. What the hezmana was going on? 

With half an ear he listened to the banter on the comms after Ennixx's training flight while digging for more information regarding the cargo and buyer. He smiled at the exchange between husband and wife. During the last weeken they had on occasion interrupted the couple at a very unwelcome time but they weren't ashamed of being caught and openly flirted with each other frequently, apparently not even noticing other people were around.

* * *

Meric returned to his maintenance duty after Ennixx had returned to the ship. He had to monitor her flight because he knew her. She was a very good pilot but she also took risks if she knew she was being evaluated. He had just felt the need to be there and monitor her progress, even though he wouldn't be able to do anything should she make a mistake. 

Meric had seen the instructor's eyebrows shoot up when he saw her dive into the asteroid field at the maximum speed a normal Prowler would have. Tense as Meric had been, he actually relaxed a little when he saw that, the pride he felt for his wife growing a little more again. Her answer to his question had made him wish his duty shift would be over already.

* * *

Shamur had gathered more information about his cargo and things were starting to make sense now. "Frell!" He really needed to give voice to his frustration. Things were getting bad real fast. It was time to discuss this with a select group of people. 

Shamur activated his comms. "Lieutenant Zyr, could you ask Rahl, Ennixx, Meric and Starem to join us in my private chambers?"

"Yes sir."

Shamur deactivated his comms again and waited for his visitors to arrive.

* * *

Ennixx and Meric met up with each other on their way to the captain's private chamber. Ennixx gave Meric a quick kiss before resuming their course. 

"I wonder what the captain needs us for," she said. "We are not high ranked and still fairly new."

Meric shook his head. "I don't understand it either. I suppose we will find out when we arrive."

* * *

Shamur looked up when his door chime rang. "Come." 

The door opened to allow the five people he had requested into his room. Shamur motioned to the large table in the center that doubled as both a dining and a strategy table. "Please, sit. We have some things to discuss."

Ennixx remembered the last time she and Meric sat at this table, the first day they had arrived and the captain had invited them to join him for third meal. The meal was pleasant and Meric and Ennixx had listened to the captain's tales until Starem entered the room.

"_Sir, we detected a Plokavian vessel heading our way."_

"_Frell! Has it detected us?"_

"_Possibly sir. It was on a direct intercept course but after we moved they did not change their course to follow us."_

"_Are we still able to see them on our sensors? Do we know what they want?"_

"_Yes sir. We did not realize it in time, but it appears they are not coming for us. They are heading for the two Leviathans; we were just between the Plokavians and the Leviathans."_

Ennixx and Meric had then learned what Plokavians were and how it was prudent to avoid contact with them. Then something terrible happened, the bad news coming through Starem's comms.

"_Sir, the Leviathan gunship has destroyed the Plokavian vessel but another one is heading straight for them."_

_Shamur stood up and motioned the couple to follow him and Starem back to command._

_The woman who had informed Starem through the comms continued her report. "A transport pod has left the gunship and is trying to reach the other Leviathan. The gunship has starbursted away. The transport pod has been overtaken by the Plokavian ship."_

"_Are any of the trace element carriers aboard the transport pod?"_

"_Yes sir. All three are aboard. The transport pod has been pulled in to the Plokavian ship."_

It had taken many arns before anything happened. Ennixx had been worried that one of her grandparents might be considered guilty. She knew that Plokavians killed the guilty party of a crime. The woman who had informed them had asked Ennixx to join her at her station. Ennixx had accepted and only then noticed she wore a metal mask that covered one side of her face.

She had introduced herself as Rahl and explained about her species and why she wore the mask. In essence she had diverted Ennixx's thoughts of the situation, something Ennixx had been grateful for. When Moya's transport pod was finally released and all three infected persons were on it, Ennixx was very relieved, until she learned that the Banik had been killed instead. Having just learned about Rahl she felt sorry for her. But Rahl explained to her that the Banik aboard Moya was, like her, a Stykera, consisting of pure energy. So even if his corporeal form had been dispersed, he had lived on and would regenerate his flesh later.

Since that time, Rahl and Ennixx had become best friends, often exercising together and discussing their histories. Ennixx shook herself from her reverie and sat in between her husband and best friend.

Shamur waited until all were seated. "I have found out what our cargo is and who it is for. Neither fact is positive. This is our cargo manifest." He tapped a few buttons to bring up the information on the holo projector.

Starem was the first to respond. "Slaves? We are going to transport slaves?"

Rahl noticed why her presence had been requested. "Banik slaves. These are ten thousand Banik slaves!"

Shamur nodded. "Minus one. There is one non Banik in the shipment." He tapped another button and the displays updated to the slave in question.

Meric was the first to respond. "A Luxan boy?"

Ennixx read the name. "Jothee, son of Ka D'Argo. Isn't D'Argo the Luxan aboard Moya?"

Shamur once again nodded. "Yes. According to intelligence reports, Ka D'Argo sent his son away after he was accused of killing his Sebacean wife. He has been looking for his son a long time."

Zyr understood what his captain was planning to do. "So we can reunite them and set the other slaves free."

"That's indeed my plan. As a result we will not be paid but I refuse to transport slaves to another life of slavery. I hope the crew of Moya will accept some of the slaves and deliver them to a safe planet."

Starem had an idea. "Couldn't we let Moya pick up these slaves instead? If we inform them of the sale and the location they could pretend they have bought the slaves and take them aboard."

Shamur shook his head. "It takes them too long to get here. It appears we are not the only ones asked to retrieve them, but we are the ones to reach the mines first. No, we will retrieve the slaves and rendezvous with Moya. Even contacting them now would be foolish. The Peacekeepers might intercept our communication."

That drew the attention of Zyr. "What do Peacekeepers need slaves for?"

"I suspect they are going to offer a trade; the Luxan's son against someone aboard Moya, possibly the Stykera."

Another thought occurred to Ennixx. "Who ordered the buying of the slaves?"

Shamur tapped a few keys again. "Scorpius. The buy is paid for by someone named Natira."

Ennixx remembered the name Scorpius very well. Both her grandparents had mentioned him frequently. "He's going to trade... Jothee for John Crichton. But why buy all the other slaves?"

Shamur shrugged. "I think the mine officials do not sell slaves separately. It is possible Scorpius was forced to buy all of them. They will probably resell the Banik slaves to minimize their losses. Alright, do we all agree on picking up the slaves and doing our best to set them free?" All of them nodded their agreement. "Good. I'll be announcing our cargo and the change in plans ship-wide. Zyr, I put you in charge of security."

* * *

Ennixx was lying comfortably in her husband's arms, her back against his chest, his right arm draped casually over her right side, allowing his hand to rest against her abdomen. His left arm was wedged between her neck and the bed. She put her left hand in his, stroking his right arm with her right hand and sighed out of contentment. Meric pulled her even tighter against him in response. 

They hadn't spoken much since their discussion in the captain's private chamber, and Meric had some questions. "Dearest, how can you be certain they are going to trade the Luxan boy for your grandfather?"

"Nana has told me about Scorpius and his quest for dangerous tech. It's the same tech that was implanted into my grandfather's brain. If Scorpius found out somehow that Ka D'Argo's son was being sold as a slave, he might have seen it as a great opportunity to get my grandfather and, thus, the technology."

Meric let the answer roll around his brain. It sounded very plausible. Another thought occurred to him. "Didn't you say your visions might have something to do with the knowledge that was given to your grandfather?"

Ennixx sighed. She knew were this was going; he was going to worry too much about her. "Yeah, it might be."

Meric did not disappoint her. "So you could be in danger as well? This Scorpius person could come after you?"

"Only if he ever finds out."

"Ennixx, what if he does find out?"

"Then we try to keep out of his hands. Besides, it strengthens my bond with my grandparents. As my grandfather once said 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' But I doubt Scorpius will find out. Nobody knows about me and certainly not that I have obtained that knowledge."

"Shamur knows who you are."

"He won't tell. I'm certain I'll be safe for a long time." Ennixx paused and waited for Meric to ask something else, but he didn't. "Are you tired my love?"

"A little."

"Hmm, too bad. I had plans. Fun plans." Meric didn't have to answer her with words; his body did enough talking.

* * *

Shamur was glad the slaves were finally loaded on his ship. As stated by the agreement, Shamur sent a coded message on a tight band to the specified coordinates. An acknowledgement was received in return. Unfortunately Moya was still close to the location where the slaves had to be delivered. This might become a problem, especially considering the Peacekeepers would continuously monitor their progress. 

Shamur had to think about how to get Moya here without the Peacekeepers finding out. A coded message was impossible to use, since nobody aboard Moya would know the encryption key. A tight band message might work, if they would deviate their course a little, allowing them to direct the transmission beam in a direction away from the Peacekeepers.

As opposed to his earlier feelings and fears, the entire loading had gone smoothly and without incident. "This is going to work out just fine."

* * *

"I've got a bad feeling about this situation." Meric was working with T'Irna on the maintenance of the secondary power grid. "I can't lose the feeling that we overlooked something." 

T'Irna grunted as he tightened a connection. "The captain usually knows how to ensure things go according to plan. We have set many slaves free before and it never resulted in a direct confrontation with anyone."

Meric held out another piece of cable that would link the two power elements. "But this time it's Peacekeepers. They have very specific plans for the slaves and it would not surprise me if they are following us."

T'Irna accepted the piece of cable. "You worry too much, my friend."

* * *

"I do not worry too much. This Scorpius person is desperate to get these slaves, especially the Luxan boy, and he will make sure he gets him." Ennixx couldn't understand why Rahl was making light of this. She knew all the details about this shipment, what it was meant for. 

Rahl looked at her with her good eye, halting her exercise on the punching bag to do so. "Ennixx, you know I consider you my friend, but I have been on this vessel for nearly ten cycles. I've known the captain that long and I know I can trust him. He told me he was certain nothing would go wrong and I believe him."

Ennixx sighed and also halted her exercise. "I think he underestimates Scorpius and the Peacekeepers. But I hope he is right. You ready for a sparring match?"

* * *

Shamur stepped into command. "How close are they?" 

"They will reach our location in two hundred microts, sir."

"And you're sure it's a Marauder?"

"Yes sir. They contacted us a few microts ago. They are here to retrieve one of the slaves. We are to search for a Luxan-Sebacean boy."

"How far away is the Leviathan?"

"Sir, the Leviathan used Starburst and is now approaching the mines."

"What? How long ago did this happen?"

"About half an arn ago."

Shamur cursed himself. He should have told the command crew the complete plan. It was his fault they did not inform him about the change in Moya's location. "Can we direct a tight beam comms link to them?"

"No sir, we can only direct a tight beam comms link to the front of the vessel."

"Frell! Open ship-wide comms." Shamur waited until the comms officer indicated they were open. "Attention all. A Peacekeeper Marauder is coming our way to retrieve one of the slaves. They will be here in approximately hundred and seventy microts."

* * *

Ennixx and Rahl broke of their sparring match as the captain's announcement was made. Rahl looked back to Ennixx at the end of the announcement. "I have to get back to my post." 

Ennixx nodded. "Yeah, me too."

They both bolted out of the exercise room, Rahl heading for command, Ennixx to guard the cargo bay.

* * *

T'Irna and Meric halted their task as the captain's announcement was made. T'Irna looked back to Meric at the end of the announcement. "Well, my friend, it's time for some action." 

Meric nodded. "Yes, aren't we lucky?"

They both ran towards the docking bay to make the first stand.

* * *

Rahl entered command and Shamur halted her. "Rahl, I must advice you to stay out of sight. Scorpius would want a Stykera and if the Peacekeepers spot you here, you might be taken as well."

"Sir, but I must be able to help in some way. I do not want to hide and do nothing."

Shamur thought about it briefly. "Very well. I suggest you take up guard at the cargo bay. The team leader of the Peacekeepers will come to command and I doubt any of the grunts will realize you are a Stykera."

"Thank you sir."

Shamur watched her running out of command. He had known her for a long time, managing to release her from the madness by simply not exposing her to dying people with a bad background. She had grown into a fighter, willing to risk her life for her fellow crew members and those who were treated unjustly. But right now he was afraid the Peacekeepers might take her away again.

"Sir, the Peacekeepers have requested permission to come aboard."

* * *

T'Irna and Meric were standing next to each other amongst a large group of guards, waiting for the Peacekeepers to exit their Marauder. They were ordered to escort the Peacekeeper team leader to command and keep the rest of the Peacekeepers contained inside the docking bay.

This was the first time Meric saw a real Marauder and he found the ship imposing. He could understand why Marauders were inducing fear in some people but Meric didn't fear the hulky ships. The occupants were a different story. Peacekeepers could be dangerous, although they would be more dangerous to his non-Sebacean friend than to him.

* * *

Ennixx stood confidently waiting outside the cargo bay. She knew her husband would be the first to see them and possibly have to fight them but she had faith in him. Too bad she had forgotten to put on her comms when she left the exercise room, otherwise she might have said something to him, tell him again she loved him.

Suddenly it registered in her brain that someone was running towards them. The group of three took a stance and readied their pulse pistols. The running stopped momentarily.

"Hold your fire, it's me, Rahl. The captain instructed me to join you here."

Rahl tentatively walked into sight to see the group lowering their weapons. She quickly joined them and took a place next to Ennixx.

* * *

Meric felt uneasy. The team leader was being escorted to command while the rest of his team remained in the docking bay. Meric was almost certain the Peacekeepers had no intention of remaining here. Either they were waiting until he and the rest of the group would let down their guard, or they were awaiting a signal from their team leader.

At least three hundred microts passed before the Peacekeepers made their move. The first strike took only twenty or thirty microts and incapacitated most of the group. Another twenty or thirty microts later and the whole team had been taken out. T'Irna had grabbed Meric and pulled him with him to the ground, whispering to stay down until they left the docking bay.

Meric understood T'Irna's intentions. By letting the Peacekeepers think the whole team was incapacitated, they might not leave any Peacekeepers in the bay, allowing them to either sabotage the Marauder or attack the Peacekeepers from behind as they made their way to the cargo bay.

* * *

Ennixx, Rahl and the two Tavleks heard the Peacekeepers approaching them. Ennixx realized there was no shooting and that bothered her. They couldn't have taken out the entire team, could they? Where was Meric? Realizing these thoughts would not be helpful in the coming fight, she shook her head mentally to clear it and, together with the rest of the small group, readied herself.

The fight itself was very short. Four guards against a Peacekeeper Commando unit were highly unbalanced odds. The two Tavleks were the first to fall. Both Rahl and Ennixx managed to take down two Peacekeepers each before Rahl got hit twice in the chest but she still breathed.

Ennixx watched in horror when she saw two Peacekeepers take aim at Rahl again. "No! Rahl!" Ennixx ran toward her fallen friend, hoping to save her, but she hadn't seen another Peacekeeper standing in wait to take her down. Ennixx felt the butt of the pulse pistol slam into her neck, almost knocking her unconscious, but leaving her unable to move a muscle.

"Find our target," the leader of the unit shouted. "The four of you, stay here."

One of the grunts took a better look at Rahl and Ennixx and turned to his buddies. "Two females. It's going to take a long time to find one in ten thousand slaves. How about we have some fun of our own?"

One of his buddies also took a closer look. "This one isn't Sebacean and I wouldn't want to risk Irreversible Contamination. The other one seems Sebacean."

Another one took a closer look. "She looks a bit old."

The first grunt didn't see the problem. "Still, I haven't been able to reduce fluid levels in a while." He walked towards Ennixx who had slowly regained mobility. She allowed him to pick her up from the floor, then kicked him in his mivonks. That would most likely prevent him from trying to reduce fluid levels for a while. As the grunt bent down in pain she grabbed his pulse pistol, shoved the owner out of the way and took out one of the other grunts.

The original owner of the pulse pistol in her hand kicked her legs from under her, causing her to stumble. Her head came into contact with the wall hard and she fell unconscious to the floor.

The grunt who had intended to reduce fluid levels decided it wasn't worth the trouble or pain. "That frelling old tralk. I'll make her pay!" He grabbed his pulse pistol again, turned it to its maximum setting and aimed at her.

One of his buddies interrupted him. "Wait. I have a better idea."

* * *

T'Irna and Meric were furiously trying to get into the Marauder or at least open its outer hull plating. They had come to the realization that following the Peacekeepers to the cargo bay would make no sense at all. If a team consisting of two dozen people was taken out so quickly, the two of them joining the three standing guard near the cargo bay wouldn't make a difference at all.

Meric had quickly scanned his fallen crew members and noticed that most of them had only been stunned or wounded and not killed. That gave him good hopes of his wife surviving the shoot out at the cargo bay.

The Marauder was thoroughly secured and they had no luck getting in. The outer hull plating was just being stubborn and refused to be pried loose. Meric noticed his friend used his considerable strength, pounding on the hull plating in the hopes of one of them bending enough so they could tear it off.

One of their crew members returned and signaled them to indicate the Peacekeepers were returning. T'Irna and Meric quickly made their way back to the region where they'd been "shot down" and resumed pretending to be unconscious, disappointed they hadn't been able to prevent them from leaving.

Meric kept one eye half open, allowing him to see if they had taken anyone. He observed how the Peacekeepers pushed the Luxan boy roughly inside the Marauder and the return of the team leader that had been escorted to command earlier, without the escort. This made him wonder what had happened on command. Had the captain been shot? Was there any damage to the ship?

Finally the Marauder took off and a mere five microts later the captain's voice came over the ship wide comms. "The Peacekeepers have left. Propulsion, navigation and external communication have been destroyed. We are not going anywhere and we may not be able to repair the damages to propulsion." There was a short pause. "We... I have failed. The Peacekeepers have taken the one slave they were interested in and vented the others out into space."

* * *

When Rahl slowly regained consciousness, she noticed the two Tavlek guards were already back on their feet and had opened the cargo bay. From her position she could already see it was empty. "They are vented out in space, aren't they?"

One of the Tavlek guards turned around to her and nodded sadly.

Rahl knew that it was a good thing she had been unconscious at that time. Being so close to the nearly ten thousand deaths might have killed her as well. Now she was still alive and able to extract revenge on those frelling Peacekeepers later.

She looked around again. "Where is Ennixx?" Both Tavlek guards indicated they hadn't seen her. "Ennixx?!" No response. She decided to use her comms but then remembered she left it in the exercise room. "Can I use one of your comms?"

One Tavlek nodded and handed her his comms. Rahl accepted it and activated it. "Ennixx, where are you?" Again there was no response. Maybe Ennixx had left her comms in the exercise room as well? "Meric? Have you seen Ennixx?"

"No, and I saw the Peacekeepers only taking the Luxan boy with them. But she had guard duty at the cargo bay so I think she is there. Have you tried to comm her?"

Rahl closed her eye before giving an answer. "I am at the cargo bay. I can't find her. I think she might have left her comms in the exercise room. I will find her, I promise." She deactivated the comms and gave it back to the Tavlek guard.

Where the frell could Ennixx be? She wouldn't have left her position without making sure her team mates were going to be alright. She clearly wasn't taken or Meric would have seen her. Rahl remembered Ennixx calling out for her when she got shot but could not remember anything else. She turned to the Tavleks. "I'll be looking for Ennixx."

* * *

Meric was helping out the med team who had been called to take care of the wounded. Rahl's communication had caused him to lose his concentration as he kept finding himself thinking about his wife. Ennixx knew better than to leave her team behind so if she wasn't there she hadn't left willingly. But Meric knew the Peacekeepers hadn't taken her with them on the Marauder so that didn't make sense either.

Finally Meric couldn't take it any longer and activated his comms. "Ennixx! Where are you?"

He immediately got a response but it was Rahl. "Meric, I have found her comms in the exercise room. I am following the route from the cargo bay to the docking bay, just in case the Peacekeepers took her or she followed them and was taken out. I'll let you know when I find her."

"Thanks Rahl." Meric accepted that he couldn't change a thing about Ennixx's situation and forced himself to focus on helping the med team taking care of his fellow crew members.

After nearly three hundred microts Rahl appeared in the docking bay, looking decidedly worried. She spotted Meric and made her way to him. "I'm sorry Meric, I haven't found her yet."

T'Irna happened to sit right next to Meric. "Perhaps I can help find her. If she is somewhere aboard, I should be able to smell her."

"Thanks." Meric stood up and led the way to Ennixx's last known location, Rahl and T'Irna following him closely.

* * *

"This is where I regained consciousness. The last thing I remember is Ennixx shouting my name and seeing her running towards me."

T'Irna sniffed the air. "She definitely was here. I can smell adrenalin so she was either afraid or in a tough fight. Knowing her, the latter would be most probable. There's another smell: male lust but also anger."

"Any idea where she is now?" Meric got increasingly worried. The fact they were so close to the cargo bay that had just a quarter arn ago been opened to space had given him fear they might have vented her into space as well. The fact that T'Irna smelled male lust and anger told him two things: one male had intended to rape her but his wife had denied him that pleasure. Perhaps the male was so angry he pushed her into the cargo bay as well, before venting it?

"Yes, I can smell her, a fresh smell. She's quite close too." T'Irna sniffed the air in various directions before walking confidently through the corridor, constantly sniffing the air. "This is where the smell is the strongest".

"No, they wouldn't."

"They wouldn't do what, Rahl?" Meric didn't understand what Rahl was getting so upset about.

"T'Irna is standing right in front of the heating chamber. It's too hot for Sebaceans in there. I'm sorry Meric, but I am afraid she has succumbed to the Living Death."

"Perhaps not." Meric said. He looked to T'Irna. "You will have to open it, my friend. I can not go in there."

T'Irna tried to open the door, which gave him great difficulty. The Peacekeepers had smashed the control panel, but T'Irna's tech knowledge allowed him to by-pass it. Finally the door could be opened.

Rahl had taken up position next to Meric, providing him support should Ennixx indeed have succumbed to the Living Death as she feared. She was quite surprised to see Ennixx walking out of the heating chamber all by herself.

Ennixx looked at the three. "What took you so long?"

* * *

Ennixx and Meric had asked Rahl and T'Irna to join them in their quarters. The couple felt they should inform their two friends about the unique situation, especially why Ennixx had been so interested in the situation aboard Moya after Jothee had been taken by the Peacekeepers.

"You came from a Center Halo?" Rahl had heard of Center Halos but to hear her friends had actually come from one was the most exciting thing. She was told Center Halos were theoretical but none had ever been found. She made a mental note to go find the Delvian Pa'us that had observed it.

T'Irna wasn't as interested in weird stellar mists. "But that doesn't explain why you weren't affected by the heat."

"I am not completely Sebacean."

That confused Rahl. "You look Sebacean to me."

Meric grinned. "I can confirm she is fully Sebacean in appearance."

Ennixx slapped his arm and smiled at him. "Meric, behave yourself." She turned her gaze back to their friends. "What do you know about John Crichton?"

Rahl considered this briefly. "I know he's a crew member of Moya, but other than that not much."

"He looks Sebacean but he isn't. He is a Human and his species can tolerate heat much better than Sebaceans. He and Officer Aeryn Sun were trapped in the Center Halo. Aeryn was... is my grandmother and, from what I have learned a couple of monens ago, John Crichton is my grandfather."

T'Irna understood it then. "That's why you were so concerned about the situation with John Crichton when he was in the clutches of that Peacekeeper."

Ennixx sighed. "Yeah, Scorpius. I'm glad they all escaped him, but I still have a bad feeling about it."

Rahl gave her friend a sideways hug. "You worry too much."

Ennixx looked at her. "Remember what happened the last time you said that?"

Rahl smiled. "That was just a coincidence. But there is something I don't understand. From what I remember about Aeryn Sun she is quite young."

Ennixx nodded. "Yeah. That's because when Moya reversed course out of the Center Halo they pulled time back with them."

Rahl was surprised by that explanation. "They went back in time?"

"Yes, to a point before they entered the Center Halo. The Delvian Pa'u and the Stykera aboard Moya might have extracted themselves from the space time continuum and remember what happened, thus preventing Moya from entering again."

Rahl nodded. "I understand. Every opening in the Center Halo splits our world into an infinite number of universes which allowed you to live on. You must have switched from one world to another."

Ennixx realized they were heading for dangerous territories. "I don't know. We just flew the transport pod through the opening and ended up here." Close enough to the truth. The less other people knew about her knowledge the better and, more importantly, the safer. She had already deducted that had happened and also knew the danger involved when you switched to an alternate universe. It probably also explained the annoying sound she had heard when she arrived on this side of the Center Halo, some kind of warning signal.

Ennixx comms chose that moment to interrupt. "Ennixx, could you and Meric come to my private chambers? Your grandfather might be in trouble."

"Yes sir, we will be right there." Ennixx deactivated the comms.

Rahl looked at her friend. "I will never again say that you worry too much."


	4. Episode 4: Heritage 1: Friend or Foe?

**Episode 4 - Heritage – Part 1: Friend or Foe?**  
Timeline: Starting after _Suns and Lovers_

* * *

Arriving at the station, it immediately became clear something had happened here. The large freighter could not dock to the station, so various smaller vessels were used to transport crew members to the station or back. They were in need of various supplies, mostly food. Shamur hoped someone would hire their services as well.

Shamur sighed inwardly as he contemplated the crew of Moya. How was it possible they were always running into trouble? Nobody could have that much bad luck, could they? Just look at this situation. Moya had been here for just three arns at most and had left behind a fairly substantially damaged space station. He wondered what had happened and he intended to find out on the station for himself.

* * *

Ennixx, Meric, Rahl and T'Irna were impatiently waiting for their transport to deliver them to the Space Station. The captain had granted the four of them permission to go there and the quartet had decided to go together.

"I wonder what happened here." Meric looked around at his company, hoping that one of them might have an answer, before shifting his focus to Rahl. "Ennixx told me you had learned there had been quite some damage, but most of it to the docking areas."

Rahl nodded. "Yes, but the station officials did not specify what had been damaged inside or what caused it." Slightly worried, she looked to Ennixx. "I do know that Moya was here for three arns, just a few arns before we arrived."

Ennixx smiled, noticing her friend was worried about her reaction. "Yeah, probably their usual bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time." She remembered her grandmother saying that most situations they had found themselves in were usually caused by that fact. "Talyn was no longer with them and I doubt Moya would have caused that much damage, so most likely something else happened here, and I intend to find out what."

Their transportation had finally arrived at the station and the foursome set foot on it for the first time to have a good look around. The docking area did seem heavily damaged, as did the drinking establishment near it. Various techs were busy making repairs to the docking area, others were clearing out debris everywhere. And all the time ships came and went delivering or picking up visitors.

T'Irna pointed to the drinking establishment. "I think that would be as good as a starting point as any."

Rahl grinned. "And that is of course the only reason you would want to go there."

He tried to glower at her, but failed miserably. After a few moments he just gave up. "So, I am thirsty. There is nothing wrong with that." Without waiting for any response he walked over to the entrance of the establishment.

* * *

She looked up the moment she heard people enter the establishment. Two Sebaceans, a Luxan and a Banik. According to the information she had received regarding her mission, these were most likely a subset of the people she was looking for. Surreptitiously she used her bio scanner, cross referencing with the provided data.

There were some discrepancies she noticed immediately, but she wasn't certain the provided data was accurate. According to the data the female should be a Sebacean, a Prowler pilot to be exact, and the male an alien that looked exactly like a Sebacean. In this case, the male seemed to be one hundred percent Sebacean, whereas the female was either a hybrid, or the genetic differences between Sebaceans and whatever species the female was, was smaller than anyone had anticipated.

There were more differences. According to the data, the Banik should be male, but this was most definitely a female Banik. Oddly enough, the Stykeera part seemed to be accurate. The Luxan did not have the markings of a general, but according to the data he should be a general.

Well, the differences didn't matter. It was quite obvious the data was just inaccurate, but these were definitely the people she was sent out to locate and bring with her. If possible all of them, but the Sebacean looking alien was the most important. He, or as had now become apparent, she, had to be kept alive at all cost.

She smiled to herself. She had explained to her superiors that the crew would return here. The damage was not extensive and they would return to see what they could do about that. Her superiors had laughed at her saying that no criminal was stupid enough to stay after a crime, let alone return to the area.

So she had sneaked off the vessel, intending to prove the crew wrong. It was unfortunate they had left, but she still had transportation. She would follow the crew of Moya, capture at least the Sebacean looking alien and return home. She would explain to the leaders that her superiors had been inadequate and that she had taken matters into her own hands to fulfill the mission.

She smiled to herself once again. Capturing them might even lead to an advancement of her career. Softly she spoke out her new title. "General Rihkari." That did sound great, the perfect title for someone like her.

* * *

The damage inside the drinking establishment was more extensive than had seemed from the outside, even though most of the debris had been pushed to the sides where it was stacked neatly. Not many customers were inside so the foursome chose a table a little removed from both the door as well as the bar.

T'Irna stood by the table as the others sat down. "I will get us some nice hot raslak." He turned around and went to the bar.

Rahl smiled. "I wonder how many raslaks he will bring. Probably one for each of us and two for himself." She looked at the couple next to her. "I should warn you he is a notorious drinker."

This was something neither Ennixx nor Meric had ever witnessed. Shamur had instituted the policy of not allowing intoxicating drinks aboard the Zirma. Instead, he had opted to allow a once a monen relaxation period, during which people were allowed to drink to their hearts content, as long as they were sober by the time the Zirma went on it's way again, usually within a weeken.

Rahl's smile turned into a grin. "We will probably end up dragging him back to the ship."

Unseen by the trio, T'Irna returned with the drinks, catching Rahl's last statement. He set four drinks on the table. "I do not get drunk."

Rahl, a little startled by his unnoticed arrival, looked up grinning even wider than before, something she found herself doing more often lately. "No, you only get a little impaired." Why was she still grinning at him like a fahrbot drannit? She hadn't drunk anything so it wasn't the raslak doing this. Not knowing what to do, she looked back at her drink, hoping the others wouldn't think she was going completely fahrbot.

Ennixx saw the way Rahl behaved and realized her friend was falling in love with the Luxan. She glanced at Meric, who seemed to have noticed the same thing, if the wink he gave her was any indication. Ennixx grabbed the drink in her hand and smelled it before taking a sip. "Tastes much like a drink we had back home." The statement was not much more as a confirmation to herself.

* * *

Managing to move closer to the foursome undetected, Rihkari quietly sat, listening to what they said. Upon hearing the Sebacean female say that Raslak tasted just like a drink she had back home, Rihkari knew she had the right group; the female was the Sebacean looking alien her people were looking for. The problem was how to capture them? There were four of them and she was alone. She could probably handle the Luxan but the other three would quickly overpower her. Perhaps it would be wiser to just follow them for a while, waiting for an opportunity to get the female Sebacean alone, or even together with the male Sebacean, whom Rihkari was certain she would still be able to handle efficiently.

* * *

Shamur had spoken to the officials of the Space Station. It appeared that the crew of Moya had not caused any of the damage. In fact, they seemed to have prevented further damage. Shamur was still a little unclear about the details of what had happened here, but was quite relieved to find out no one held the crew of Moya responsible. The details he would find out later. Looking for work was more important at this point.

* * *

Ennixx shifted in her seat a little uncomfortably. She was certain they were being watched by the creature at the table next to them. Her training, however short it had been, had ingrained into her that whenever someone was paying undue attention to you, they were watching you, possibly planning an attack, but at the very least interested in something.

Ennixx looked towards Meric, hoping to catch his eye and see if he had noticed it too. Unfortunately, Meric, like Rahl, was totally engrossed in the tale T'Irna was telling about his old life before he joined the Zirna.

T'Irna started to laugh. "You should have seen their faces when they figured out who had done that."

They all laughed with him. As the laughter died out, Ennixx saw her opportunity to attract Meric's attention and cleared her throat, immediately causing Meric to turn to her. Their eyes locked for just a microt. Meric's eyes darted briefly to the table next to them before returning to her, this time with a questioning look. He apparently had noticed their company. She gave a slight nod, affirming his speculation.

Meric turned back to T'Irna and Rahl. "Should we take an arn to examine the station more closely? That is after all the reason we came."

Both of them nodded their approval of the idea, with Rahl adding a verbal response. "At least now T'Irna is still sober enough to do so."

* * *

They were leaving, from what Rihkari heard, to inspect the station, most likely to determine the best approach for their next assault on this station. She waited until they left the establishment before she also got up, determined to follow them. With a bit of luck, she would remain undetected.

* * *

Shamur was about to enter the drinking establishment as he saw the four friends walking a little further away on the walkway, apparently in a hushed discussion. He smiled a bit, thinking that at least they didn't need to drag the Luxan back to the docking area. Deciding to leave the foursome to their discussion, he turned to the entrance.

As he entered the establishment, Shamur almost walked straight into a large female creature. She apologized and stepped aside to have him enter first, before she hastened out of the establishment. He had never seen this species, but just the size made it clear this would not be a species to be trifled with, though she seemed very polite.

Shamur observed her surveying the area swiftly before walking away in the direction she needed to go. He shook his head a little and walked up to the bar, ordering a drink and intent on inquiring about possibilities for obtaining new freighting jobs.

* * *

As soon as they left the establishment, Ennixx turned to the side to look in the direction of Rahl and T'Irna. "Someone was watching us, sitting right next to us."

Rahl nodded. "I noticed her too, but was not sure if she was watching us." Silently she berated herself for paying more attention to T'Irna and his tale. "I saw her moving from another table to the one next to us but dismissed it as her simply desiring to be closer to the door or the bar." She shook her head. "I completely forgot about her afterwards."

Ennixx touched her arm. "It's alright, Meric and I observed her too." She looked momentarily to Meric. "Though I hadn't seen her move closer."

Meric shook his head. "Neither did I. I only realized she kept looking our way halfway thru T'Irna's tale."

"I did not notice her at all." T'Irna was beating himself up about it. He should have noticed this, he had followed the same training as the others, yet he was the only one who had not noticed their shadow at all. And all because he was so focused on Rahl and trying to impress her with some tale.

Meric clasped his friend's shoulder. "It's alright, my friend. We all failed to notice her at some point. Just pay close attention from now on. I suspect she will follow us as we walk around the station. Perhaps you can sniff out her scent, making it easier to keep track of her."

T'Irna nodded. "I will do that. What species is she?"

Neither Ennixx nor Meric had any clue and turned to Rahl, who shook her head. "I don't know, I have never seen her species before. She's big, perhaps even taller than a Scarran. She also seems to have thick skin and has many similarities with Scarrans."

Meric furrowed his brow. "Scarrans are the ones with the heat gland, aren't they?"

Ennixx nodded, her enhanced memory having no trouble remembering the medical data of various species the ship's med tech had given. She had picked out the species that were of particular danger to Meric or her and made sure Meric learned those first. "Yes. If these species is similar to Scarrans, she may have the heat gland also." She looked Meric in the eyes. "It may be a wise precaution if you maintained your distance if we have to confront her."

The group moved to one of the open shops; this one seemed to sell tech parts. Just before they entered it, Rahl noticed the female coming their way rapidly. She turned her head so her mask would be facing their follower. "There she comes."

T'Irna pretended to look at a building across from the shop they were about to enter. As he turned he zeroed in on the large, Scarran looking female and sniffed a few times, trying to filter out her scent. He turned back and followed his friends into the shop. "I picked up her scent. She smells quite different from a Scarran."

* * *

Rihkari briefly hesitated when she saw the four enter one of the shops. Entering the shop herself might cause suspicion amongst these people. The Luxan and the Peacekeeper especially would quickly catch on to her if she followed them into every building. But if she stayed outside and out of sight, she could simply follow them to their next location, until a favorable situation presented itself.

Looking around, she noticed a small gap in between the two buildings opposite the shop they had entered. It seemed a little wider than she, and the darkness would simply hide her from view, yet provide her with a perfect view of the shop.

Rihkari walked in that direction and stepped into the gap between the two buildings. It was a closer fit than she had thought at first, but still wide enough to allow her relatively easy movement in and out of it.

* * *

Shamur listened to the tale of what had happened exactly. Still, this was not his goal in coming here. He needed new contracts, but he was well aware of the benefits of listening to other people's tales; feigning interest in even the most boring of tales if it would earn the trust of the teller.

As the story teller finished, Shamur decided to probe the teller's knowledge about possible freighting jobs he might have heard of. "So, I take it the people on this space station will be working hard on repairs. I myself am in the freighting business, and am interested in new jobs. However, if needed, I am sure I can spare some of my crew to assist in repairs as well."

The story teller, also the temporary tender, nodded his head. "The attack and resulting damages have resulted in the loss of many supplies. In addition we will need many materials to make internal repairs. The reserves we had available are all being used to repair the outside hull first, but there are still a lot of damages on the inside. I advise you to go to the tech offices, to the left of the docking area. There they will be able to tell you what they need, both in labor as well as in freighting."

Shamur nodded his thanks. He realized his crew would be less pleased with this since it would cut their rest period short. But, if they would not take this possibility and could not find another job within a weeken, they would be in bigger trouble. "Anyone in specific I should talk to?"

"I doubt you will have much choice. I do not believe more than one person will be at the office."

Shamur nodded again but decided to remain in the establishment for a little while longer.

* * *

Ennixx briefly glanced in the direction of the door again. "At least she was smart enough to not come in here as well."

T'Irna turned in the direction of the door as well and carefully sniffed the air. "No, but she is close."

Meric nodded. "I suspect she's hiding in the gap between the two buildings across the walkway."

Ennixx contemplated the options. "I doubt there is much to do. We have no idea what she wants or if she is interested in all of us or just one." She started to smile, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But we could have some fun."

"What fun?" Rahl looked doubtfully to Ennixx, dreading her friend's answer.

"We can make her work real hard trying to remain undetected. More importantly, we may be able to find out what she wants." Having seen enough of the tech shop, Ennixx immediately turned and walked towards the door, not even waiting for responses of her friends or husband.

T'Irna sighed and clasped Meric on the shoulder as they followed Ennixx out of the shop. "My friend, you have a dangerous wife."

Meric looked up at his friend. "There is nothing dangerous about having fun. She hasn't been able to have fun for a while now."

Rahl shook her head. "You two were having enough fun this morning." She noticed T'Irna's questioning gaze as they exited the shop and joined their waiting friend. "I wanted to ask Ennixx to join me in the exercise room but when I arrived at their quarters it became clear she would not be available."

Meric shrugged. "That was a different kind of fun."

Ennixx nodded. "And a very good substitute for whatever workout Rahl had planned." They walked along the walkway, away from the drinking establishment where they had started.

T'Irna looked at Rahl. "Next time you should come to me. I'd be happy to workout with you."

Ennixx and Meric looked at each other and burst out in laughter. Rahl's face had turned to a red shade and T'Irna looked confused until he realized how his words might have been interpreted.

T'Irna started to blush as well. "I... uh, I meant in the exercise room."

Her laughter subsiding, Ennixx continued her tease of the Luxan. "Meric and I did it there too not so long ago."

T'Irna glowered at her, not enjoying the continued teasing "I meant combat training, a sparring match."

Ennixx just laughed out loud again, but managed to stop quickly upon seeing Rahl's discomforted expression. "Alright, alright, I will stop making fun of you." She pointed ahead to a shop a little further down the street. "I want to go there."

T'Irna looked where Ennixx was pointing at and sighed. "As I said before, you are a dangerous woman."

Ennixx looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "I like having a weapon around. It comforts me, makes me feel safe."

Meric feigned to be hurt by her last remark. "I thought I made you feel safe?"

Ennixx ignored him. "Having weapons is only dangerous to those who stand in my way. Besides, I have had enough of asking for Chakan Oil cartridges from everybody, just to be armed myself. I am buying new weapons and lots of cartridges for myself."

T'Irna put up his hands. "Alright, we will go there."

Ennixx smiled at him. "Don't pretend you are just humoring me. You were eying that shop the moment we stepped out of the drinking establishment."

Rahl looked up to T'Irna, making sure her mask would be facing their pursuer. "Is that female still following us?"

T'Irna sniffed a few times. "Yes."

Meric smiled. "Let's see how fast she can hide herself." He picked Ennixx up in an embrace, kissing her and turning her so she would face the woman following them.

Ennixx, initially startled a little to be picked up so suddenly, moved her face to kiss his cheek, taking the opportunity to scan behind them. She could barely hide the smile as she saw the woman dart into a gap between two buildings.

Meric put her back on her feet. "You saw her?"

Ennixx turned back to face in the direction they were walking before answering. "Yeah. She's not very quick. She had barely turned in the direction she wanted to go."

Rahl grinned. "Well, she might as well stay there, now that we will enter this shop."

* * *

Seeing the Sebacean looking female come out of the shop alone had given Rihkari some hope that she might be able to grab her without the others standing in the way. Unfortunately, the others had come out shortly after, before she had time to get out of the gap and run for her.

In hindsight, that was probably for the better. The Sebacean looking female would have seen her well before she could have reached her. Though Rihkari was sure the standard issue pulse pistol would not have much of an effect on her, it would draw undue attention.

Now that the group was moving again, Rihkari walked out of her hiding place, making sure to stay out of sight. They were laughing now, though Rihkari had no idea why.

Rihkari followed them from a distance, but unfortunately she needed to remain more or less in the middle of the walkway, since most of the shops had placed their debris at the sides of the walkway. The Sebacean looking female now pointed at a weapon shop, resulting in a minor discussion amongst the crew. They still seemed to be joking mostly, but Rihkari's heart almost stopped when the Sebacean male grabbed the Sebacean looking female and turned her around while kissing her.

Rihkari quickly looked to both sides and ran towards the nearest gap in between buildings, hoping to remain out of sight for a little longer. This gap was a little smaller than the previous one and she could barely turn around in it. Finally Rihkari was facing the walkway again and she peeked around the corner in time to see the foursome enter the weapon shop.

* * *

When Shamur entered the tech main office, he was addressed by a Hynerian male, sitting on a desk, looking extremely busy.

"Whatever has been damaged, it will have to wait. You can file a report and we will get to it sometime in the next monen, unless it is structural damage to the hull."

Shamur shook his head. "No, that is not what I have come for. I want to offer my services to your department. We can either provide labor or transport materials from wherever you have purchased them."

The Hynerian finally looked up. "You own a freighter?"

Shamur nodded. "Yes, standard Irsandi class, we should be able to handle four cargo units for each trip."

The Hynerian moved to another desk. "Fill in this contract. We pay fifty thousand credits per shipment per cargo unit."

Shamur looked the contract over but it seemed a standard shipping contract. He quickly filled in the details and handed the contract back.

The Hynerian looked it over. "The Zirna?" He looked back up. "You are captain Shamur?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

The Hynerian smiled, or at least it seemed like he tried to smile. "Not at all. Your services are well known for their swiftness and reliability. Your first shipment will consist of two cargo units currently located in the Derandos system. Mostly materials needed for restructuring this station and a small part of food supplies."

Shamur nodded. "I know the system. It will probably take us a solar day to get it here. Who should I contact when I arrive at the system?"

"Your contact in the Derandos system is Erhn. She will be notified of your pending arrival. When you get back you can contact me. I am Risho. You get paid when the shipment has been delivered here."

Shamur nodded again. "These conditions are acceptable. Now, if you will excuse me, I will notify my crew so we can go on our way." Seeing that the Hynerian had already returned to his earlier work, Shamur turned around and left the office, activating his comms as soon as he was outside.

* * *

Rihkari observed the foursome exit the weapons shop again, each of them carrying a bag full of, presumably, weapons and/or explosive devices. More proof that she was right. A smile surfaced. They had bought the weapons and explosives they needed to completely destroy the station, and they had done it on the station itself.

They were coming back in her direction now, again laughing and joking amongst themselves. But suddenly they stopped talking, and Rihkari was almost certain she could hear someone's voice coming though the comms they wore.

Just as they walked in front of her hideout, they came to a halt, allowing Rihkari to overhear the comms message.

"... acquired a new business contract. All are expected back aboard..."

* * *

"... within a quarter arn."

T'Irna sighed. "Frell! That ends our relaxation time."

Shamur's voice continued his instructions. "If you are not aboard within that timeframe, you will be left on this station until we return in a solar day."

The transmission was ended at that point and Ennixx looked at her friends as they resumed their walk, this time with the docking area as the destination. "I wonder what kind of job we are getting ourselves into this time."

Rahl shrugged. "Probably some cargo hauling, materials and other supplies needed on this station."

In silence they made their way to the docking area at a leisurely pace, considering they were already close to their destination anyway. Halfway there, they were passed by the large female that had been following them.

Meric looked at his friends. "I had forgotten about her."

Ennixx nodded, a slight frown on her face as she watched the big woman head to the docking area at a much higher pace than theirs. "I had too. She must have heard we were leaving and is now trying to get off the station before us."

They rounded the last corner before the straight walkway to the docking bay, just in time to see the large female enter a rather large but fast looking ship. By the time the arrived at the docking bay, their shadow had taken off, presumably waiting somewhere to follow them.

As soon as they arrived, they noticed their captain, apparently also waiting for his transport back to the ship. He gave them a friendly nod, before turning to Ennixx and Meric.

"I hope you were enjoying yourself here." His eyes fell on the bags all four of them were carrying, but took special note of the fact that Ennixx' bag was not only the largest, but also the only one filled to the top. "You take after your grandmother, I think."

Ennixx smiled. "Certainly about flying, but from what I know about Nana, she too had a passion for weapons and such." She shrugged. "They make me feel safer." She immediately cast a glance at Meric, her gaze telling him to keep quiet; a suggestion he seemed to accept as he closed his mouth again. "Besides, somebody seems to be following the four of us."

Shamur looked at the four of them. "Large female, a bit Scarran like in appearance?"

They all nodded.

"I saw her earlier. She almost knocked me over when she left the drinking establishment just as I was about to enter. I had seen you a little further down the walkway before, but when she exited the bar she first looked in all directions before going in the direction you had taken. Just now, I saw her come here at almost a run and take off in her ship."

Rahl nodded again. "Yes, that is her, sir. She walked past us earlier and we saw her boarding her vessel when we rounded the corner. We think she overheard your message over the comms. We had forgotten she was following us and had hidden there earlier."

The captain raised his eyebrows. "You had seen her go into hiding?"

Rahl nodded, a little smile forming. "Yes, Meric wanted to know how fast she could hide herself so he picked up Ennixx in an embrace, turning her so she could see our pursuer."

The captain looked at the two middle-aged Sebaceans, slowly shaking his head. "And I assume she was not fast enough?"

Ennixx chuckled. "By the time I looked, which was not immediately because, well," a little shrug followed, "I was enjoying the kiss Meric gave me, she had just decided where to hide."

Shamur nodded and contemplated the issue. "Her species is unfamiliar to me, so I am certain it has nothing to do with any encounters with her or her species. She is probably a bounty hunter. Someone we dealt with in the past may be seeking us, though I do not know why."

Ennixx interrupted. "Could someone have found out about Meric and me? Perhaps someone is interested in me, because of my grandparents."

Shamur shook his head. "That information has not left the ship. The only ones with knowledge about your origin are Zyr, Starem, the four of you and me. I am certain none of us have mentioned anything to anyone. Of course, there is the possibility someone noticed your arrival in this region."

Meric thought back to their arrival and what had happened since. "Crais and Talyn know we are not from this region of space."

Ennixx thought about that. "Yes, but I do not think he would be that interested in us. He does not know I am a granddaughter of the man he had been chasing for over a cycle. The only one who may be interested in me is Scorpius." Frell, this was not something to talk about with these people. Ennixx hoped they would let it go.

Rahl seemed confused, apparently trying to remember where she heard the name Scorpius before. "That's the Peacekeeper who... ordered the death of ten thousand of my people to retrieve the Luxan boy."

Ennixx nodded, feeling a bit ashamed to worry about her own situation and not think about what this might do to her friend. "Yeah." Still, she was not planning on informing the others.

The transport had landed at this time, and the crew of five boarded it. Ennixx felt relieved that none of them had asked her why this Scorpius wanted her grandfather, and maybe even her. Then she started to think about the consequences should she not inform them. "Scorpius is chasing my grandfather because he has knowledge about wormholes."

Meric's head whipped around in her direction, definitely not happy that Ennixx decided to give them this information. The others also looked at her, but surprise and confusion was on their faces. Rahl was the first to respond verbally.

"Wormholes?"

Ennixx nodded. "Corridors connecting points in space-time. Scorpius wants them for some reason I can't remember right now." She should have paid more attention to the stories Nana had told her. "He found out my grandfather had been given this knowledge, though my grandfather could not access it consciously."

Shamur looked worriedly at Ennixx. "And you think this Scorpius person may believe you have that knowledge and come after you?"

Ennixx shrugged. "It is possible, but he would have to know I am Crichton's granddaughter, which seems very unlikely. But the possibility is there. That is why I told you." She looked at Meric. "To let you know that someone may come after me."

Shamur nodded. "I do appreciate that, but you need not have worried about that. Aboard the Zirna, we protect each other and we do not sell each other out. Even so, I would suggest we keep this information between the five of us."

* * *

Rihkari was waiting patiently for the transport vessel that would have her target aboard, her bio-scanners on the look out for the unique signs of the Sebacean looking alien. During this time, she also visually scanned the surrounding area of the station for the Leviathan where they were supposedly served as a crew. That was the only provided data that appeared to have been accurate. After all, her superiors had been following the Leviathan for a monen now.

But why was there no sign of the Leviathan around the space station? Was she hiding somewhere in the system? Adjusting the scanners to trace for the Leviathan, Rihkari quickly came to the conclusion that the Leviathan was not in this system at all, unless she was in shadow of the single planetoid of this system.

Rihkari, for the first time since she'd seen these four people, began to have some doubts about whether she was following the right targets. But it seemed so unlikely to find another Sebacean looking alien with differing bio signatures. With a jolt, Rihkari remembered she should be scanning for those bio signatures. She switched her scanner back to scan for the specific bio signature, but she was too late to intercept them. They were nearly aboard a large freighter by now.

What should she do now? Wait the solar day she had heard from the voice over the comms? Follow them? Staying here meant preserving precious fuel, but it would also mean running the risk of losing the one person she was following. After all, she, and the others, could leave the freighter when they arrived at their destination.

Furiously, Rihkari thought about how to proceed. Her fuel supply would be barely enough for a round trip if the freighter traveled even for three quarters of that time. Then she got an idea. Her ship had an Irsandi locking mechanism. She could simply lock on to the freighter and not use any fuel during the trip. Her ship should be small enough to stay of their scanners, and since she would be controlling the lock procedure, their bridge would not be notified of the locking or the unlocking once they arrived. She steered her ship towards the back of the freighter, locked on to their lock mechanism and powered down. Her ship would now receive a small amount of power from the freighter, enough to keep the air fresh and at a comfortable temperature.

* * *

Shamur entered the bridge and addressed the person currently at navigation. "Have you kept an eye on the vessel I said was leaving?" The woman confirmed. "Where did it go?"

She smiled up to him. "She has used the cargo unit locking mechanism and attached herself to us, just like you predicted, sir."

Shamur nodded and also smiled. "Make sure she stays locked safely and provide enough power to her ship to keep her comfortable."

"Yes sir."


	5. Episode 5: Heritage 2: The Genes Have It

**Episode 5 - Heritage – Part 2: The genes have it**  
**Timeline:** During _Self inflicted wounds part 1_

* * *

"They deserved to know the truth."

Meric sighed in frustration. "But nobody knew about it! There was no danger, until you told them!"

Ennixx, for the first time in her life, did something she never had done before. She yelled at her husband. "Every one with a bio scanner and knowledge of my grandfather's DNA will quickly come to the realization what my heritage is!" She calmed herself down again. "Besides, they all already knew that he is my grandfather."

Meric nodded, frustration and anger still clear on his features. "Yes, but they didn't know about why this Scorpius person is following your grandfather and why he may come after you! But now three more people know about it! Three more people who could tell Scorpius should they want the bounty!"

Ennixx shook her head. "Are you saying we cannot trust our friends? You think T'Irna, Rahl or captain Shamur would sell that information?" She turned her head to look at her husband as he was lying behind her in their bed. "Do you?"

Meric did think about it for a brief moment. "T'Irna and Rahl probably would not, but we do not know the captain that well to trust him."

Ennixx turned around fully so they were now lying face to face. "Meric, he gave us a place to stay, gave us combat training, he allowed you to improve your tech knowledge and he gave me pilot training. He seems to sincerely care for his crew, which now includes us. Rahl has known him for a long time and she trusts him with her life."

Meric seemed less sure about it, but eventually admitted that he had no real basis to distrust their captain. "Perhaps, but I still believe it was not a good idea to tell them at all, at least not until we were certain someone was after you and your knowledge."

"Perhaps you are right. But I can not change what I have done, nor do I regret telling it to them. But I will promise not to tell anyone else, alright, my love?"

Meric nodded. "I can live with that. I am glad you wanted us to talk this out before going to sleep."

Ennixx shrugged a little and moved closer to him. "My grandfather always said 'never go to sleep with anger.' It seemed good advice."

Meric nodded again. "At least I'm not feeling angry anymore."

Ennixx smiled. "I know, I can feel it." She pushed herself firmly against his growing length. "My grandfather also said that make-up sex is the best sex, but I have never had the opportunity to test it." For good measure she pouted at him.

Meric flipped her on her back and leaned on his arms to hover above her, grinning widely. "We will test his theory right away."

* * *

Shamur woke up early, needing the time to make preparations for picking up their cargo. When he arrived on the bridge, he noticed his trustworthy navigator was not in sight, even though he had asked her to come in early as well. He walked over to the console and asked the current navigator to end his shift now.

Once Shamur was alone at the console, he checked the cargo link controls. Good, she had deactivated the fail-safe warning system when she rerouted control of the link to the bridge. Their current cargo was still securely attached and no longer in control of the link. The doors to command opened behind him and his trustworthy navigator arrived.

As she moved closer, she smiled coyly at him. "I take it she is still where we left her?"

He smiled back at her. "Yes, and I noticed you took over control of the link and deactivated the fail-safe warning system. Good work, Dehrish."

"Thank you, sir." She took her place when the captain had vacated it. "Any further instructions, sir?"

"Yes, I want you to..."

* * *

Rahl grunted as Ennixx managed to land a blow on her side. "I guess Meric was not happy that you told us about... that thing." Not having the exercise room to themselves was a bit hampering to their conversation, but Rahl was making sure nobody would find out about her friend's unusual situation.

Ennixx chuckled. "Not particularly, no." Immediately followed by a grunt as Rahl landed two hits shortly after each other, causing Ennix to lose her balance and fall backwards on the sparring mat. "But we talked about it." She scrambled back to her feet. "And patched things up."

Rahl snorted. "That might explain why you do not seem as well rested."

Ennixx grinned. "Yeah, I already had an exercise last night. And another this morning." She directed her gaze towards Meric, who was being asked to spar with one of the other Sebaceans currently exercising. "I think it had more of an effect on Meric though."

Rahl followed her gaze and noticed Meric was having considerable trouble moving towards one of the sparring mats. "What the frell did you do to him?"

Ennixx chuckled. "I did just that. Frell him, I mean." She assumed her stance again. "Wanna go another round?"

Rahl turned back. "Sure. This is probably one of few chances I get of knocking you on your eema."

Ennixx grinned. "You already had that chance and took it. You will not get another for a long while."

They moved around over the mat, trying to find holes in the other's defenses with probing punches and kicks, constantly circling each other.

"So, when are you going to ask T'Irna to give you a good frell?" Ennixx let the question follow with a solid jab on Rahl's side that seemed to have opened up, only to meet nothing but air and receive a kick back from her opponent.

Rahl grinned, happy to have lured her friend into the trap. "Why would I ask him that?"

Ennixx smiled. "Come on, Rahl, both Meric and I noticed you have feelings for him." Ennixx managed to side step Rahl's attack but her counter punch missed its target.

Rahl, though still focused on her sparring, seemed to be contemplating what Ennixx had said. "Did T'Irna notice?"

Ennixx shook her head. "No, he really seems to be a dense Luxan when it comes to things like that." She attacked Rahl again, but missed. Luckily she was able to sidestep Rahl's counter attack. "It is really stupid of him, since he obviously is interested in you as well."

Rahl abandoned her sparring stance. "He is?"

Ennixx, realizing her friend was no longer interested in sparring, also stood upright, leading the both of them to the side where they had laid their towels. "Definitely. Yesterday in the drinking establishment, when he was telling that story, he was trying to impress you and he was trying so hard that he completely missed that female watching us. And his offer to spar with you was also a clear indication."

Ennixx picked up both towels and gave one to Rahl before toweling of the sweat. "It is highly unlikely he will offer you a frell. He seems afraid of your possible rejection. So, if you want him, you need to ask him."

Rahl thought about the situation. "But what if I'm interested in more than a frell?"

Ennixx shrugged and smiled. "You ask for two." She held up her hands in a placating manner. "I know, that is not what you meant. Of course I can not be sure of his attentions, but it doesn't seem like T'Irna is only interested in just a frell either, which is possibly increasing his insecurity even more. But you never know, unless you talk to him about it."

* * *

Rihkari woke up with a start. She should not have fallen asleep that deeply. She quickly made her way over to the pilot seat. They had slowed down, which meant they were probably near their destination. The chronometer indicated they had been traveling for a little over nine arns. The travel back would probably take about eleven or twelve, depending on what load they were going to pick up.

Rihkari powered up her ship again. At least that had been her intention, but the power didn't seem to come online at all. She was still receiving a small amount of power from the freighter, which seemed to be the only power supply she still had.

That wasn't a very large problem, just an inconvenience. She would just need to use her backup air purification and heating system as she unlocked from the freighter. It would hold out for at least twenty arns if she remained drifting until the freighter began its journey back, at which point she would need to use her engines to link back up to the freighter and their cargo. She could then see if she could recharge her main power during the trip back by taking a little more power from the freighter than she would actually need.

Rihkari punched in the controls that would detach her ship from the freighter but, to her dismay, nothing happened. No, that was not entirely accurate, something did happen. A light flashed to indicate she no longer had control of the link. Apparently the freighter had performed a check of some sort and reasserted control over the linking mechanism.

Then her comms came on line. "Honored guest, it appears..."

* * *

"...you have awakened. We have taken the liberty of depleting your main power supply as a precaution. In addition we have retaken control of our cargo link."

Shamur smiled as he envisioned the unbelieving look on their pursuer's face. "We will send a transport over shortly and kindly advise you to board it. It will take you directly to our prison hold. Alternatively, you could stay in your ship, but we may forget you are locked on to us when we pick up our cargo. That might be very unpleasant."

Shamur indicated the comms should be closed. He turned to Zyr. "Prepare a transport and control it remotely to pick up our new guest."

Zyr gave a curt nod. "Yes sir."

* * *

Frell! They had detected her! Rihkari knew this would be the end of her mission. Feverishly she thought about her current predicament, hoping to find a way out, but there was none, at least none that would not result in her death.

She prepared for her coming departure. She would only get one attempt to contact her former superiors. She would have to tell them about her partial failure, but it would also provide them with updated intelligence.

Rihkari shook her head ruefully. She had been stupid and overly confident. She was not a tactician. She wasn't even a skilled warrior. She had just based her plans on her superior strength over her intended target, but completely lost track of sound tactics. By now she was fairly certain they had seen her on the station, knowing full well she had been following them.

The transport was arriving and docking with her ship. She hid the signaling device and boarded the transport. As it turned out, hiding had been unnecessary. Nobody was aboard the transport. She retrieved the device again and transmitted the message, hoping anyone of her species would pick it up and relay the information to the right people.

She disposed of the device and took her pill. She would never endure any torture they may have planned and she refused to let them have the information. The pill would kill her before the transport would reach the freighter.

* * *

Rahl rushed back to Ennixx and Meric's quarters, knowing that both had been given a day of. Sliding to a halt in front of their quarters, she hesitated momentarily. It seemed unlikely, when taking into account what Ennixx had told her this morning and the way Meric had trouble moving, but experience had taught Rahl that with these two all certainties were to be thrown away.

Still, they both would want to know this latest development, so Rahl pushed the button for the door chime. The door immediately slid open after Ennixx had pushed a button by their bed.

"Rahl, come in." Ennixx was sitting atop of Meric, who why lying face down on the bed. She was sitting backwards so she could rub Meric's calves, apparently trying to alleviate his pain in that part of his body. "Shouldn't you be in command right now?"

Rahl nodded. "Yes, but the captain just informed me that yesterday's pursuer had linked with the Zirna."

Ennixx shifted her attention back to Rahl, and Meric turned his head to face her as well, a lazy smile on his face.

"The captain has informed her that he had taken the precaution of depleting her main power supply and sent over a transport to bring her here to our holding cell so we could talk to her."

Ennixx looked doubtfully. "And she agreed?"

Rahl nodded, a smile forming. "Yes, because the captain also informed her he had taken control of the cargo link and he might forget she was still attached to it when we would pick up the cargo units."

Meric groaned his appreciation of the captain's plan. "I would agree under such conditions as well."

Rahl looked at the two of them momentarily. "Don't you want to come and talk to her? Find out what she wants?"

Ennixx nodded and smiled. "I definitely want to talk to her, but you will have to give us a little private time before Meric gets out of this bed." She winked at Rahl, who rolled her eyes when she noticed that Meric didn't seem to wear any clothing and Ennixx was missing some clothing as well.

She walked out of their quarters, shutting the door behind them and waited outside of their quarters for a brief period before both of them showed up. She led the way to the docking area adjacent to the holding cells and looked at Meric's gait and shook her head as she saw he was still walking a little awkwardly. "I can't believe you were working on another frell when Meric is obviously not recovered from your earlier bouts."

Meric turned to her and shrugged. "This is from last night when I overexerted myself. This morning Ennixx did most of the work, and I'm pretty sure she was planning to do that again just before you entered." He gave Rahl a wink. "Knowing her, she probably let you in deliberately to tease me."

Rahl laughed and nodded. "Yes, that certainly sounds like Ennixx."

Ennixx laughed with her. "And now you make him wait even longer while we go see our new friend."

They walked on in silence for a while before Rahl asked a question that had been on her mind before. "I was wondering about something." She looked a little worriedly to both of them, before addressing Ennixx, whom she felt closer to. "But considering your sex-life I was wondering why you don't have any children. Or at least I never heard you talk about your children."

Ennixx and Meric looked at each other and grabbed each other's hands. Ennixx turned back to Rahl and cleared her throat. "Meric and I had a child, a daughter named Karinta. Her birth did not go well, and as a result of having her, I was no longer able to conceive. We did not mind, because we had at least one child, something we had wanted from the moment we married."

Meric, seeing the tears well up in his wife's eyes, squeezed her hand and continued the story. "Unfortunately, after two cycles it became clear that our little Karinta was not healthy and not destined to live a long life. But she was a fighter and she lived to the age of fifteen, only getting too ill to enjoy her life about half a cycle before she died."

Ennixx looked straight ahead, tears in her eyes, but a smile on her mouth. "She would have turned fifty this weeken." She turned to Rahl, wiping the tears from her eyes in the process. "She always wanted to fly and I took her flying in the transport pod Nana had left behind. That was about two cycles before she died and I taught her how to fly it herself. You should have seen the smile on her face when she was steering the transport pod herself."

Rahl gave her a sideways hug. "I am sorry I brought this up."

Ennixx shook her head. "No, you shouldn't be. We often think and talk about her, just not with anyone else. But I am glad I could tell someone else."

Meric nodded. "So am I."

Rahl looked at the both of them, making sure they meant it. She nodded once. "You can always come talk to me about her when you want."

They had reached the docking area and moved to stand behind a line of guards while the transport landed. Rahl pulled out her pulse pistol as well, a gesture that was copied by both Ennixx and Meric.

Ennixx turned to Meric to whisper to him. "Are you not happy I made you buy that pistol and chakan oil?"

Meric smiled a little. "It does make me feel safer."

They waited as the transport lowered the boarding ramp. Nobody got out and Ennixx turned to Rahl. "Are you sure she got onboard?"

Rahl nodded. "Yes, the transport's sensors confirmed someone entering the transport before it returned here."

Ennixx turned back to face the transport. "Well, she's obviously not planning on vacating it soon."

A number of guards entered the transport to retrieve their guest but returned quickly, one of them informing the others of what they had found. "She is dead."

"Now, that is a disappointment." T'Irna had moved over to where the other three were standing. "I was hoping to find out what she wanted."

Ennixx grumbled back. "So were we."

* * *

Shamur was pacing his private chambers, muttering to himself. "Frelling stupid. Should have anticipated that."

He was interrupted by the door chime, and moved to open the door for his guests.

The four friends entered and Shamur greeted them before getting to the reason he asked them to meet him in his quarters. "I want to apologize for what has happened."

Ennixx looked questioningly at the captain. "Apologize? Why?"

"For not anticipating she may not let herself be captured so easily. I had let Dehrish follow the vessel when she took off because, at that moment, I had remembered she was looking around when she left the drinking establishment, and chose the direction you had gone earlier. I do not like people following my crew and I had intended to deal with her later, until you told me about your grandfather's knowledge. I felt it important to find out who was following you so I decided to capture her."

Ennixx nodded. "I see. Well, I do not blame you. I think you took appropriate action and I don't see how you could have anticipated she would take her own life."

The others also indicated they did not blame the captain for what had happened.

Shamur sighed. "Next time I will discuss things with you before I do anything rash."

T'Irna looked his captain in the eye. "I hope there will not be a next time." His gaze traveled to the two newest crew members. "But if Ennixx is right, there may be more trouble coming, and perhaps we should take precautions so nobody else will be able to take advantage of any weaknesses in our technology."

Shamur nodded. "That might be a wise precaution indeed. Alright, that is all I had to tell."

Meric interrupted. "Excuse me, sir, but what about the ship she abandoned?"

Shamur looked at him. "What about it?"

Meric, cleared his throat. "Well, sir, once we are certain it is safe, could we bring it aboard?"

Shamur looked a little confused at Meric, a look that was copied by Ennixx, though hers was more of a surprise. "Why do you want me to take it aboard?"

Meric looked a little nervously to Ennixx before turning his attention back to the captain. "Well, sir, with your permission, I would like to spend my free time on it, to see if I can improve its systems. Ennixx and I could use it later, if it becomes too dangerous or inconvenient for you to keep us aboard."

Shamur thought about it. It didn't seem to be a big problem to have the ship along. "Very well. Since the ship has a cargo lock mechanism, it can always be attached to us or our cargo, so it will not take up precious space in the main cargo bay, or the maintenance bay. Anything else?"

They all indicated they had nothing more to report.

"Very well. Dismissed." Shamur opened the door to let them out and immediately noticed the slight limp Meric exhibited. "How did that happen?"

Ennixx and Rahl answered at the same time. "Exercising." They looked at each other and started to giggle.

* * *

Ennixx and Meric, back in their quarters, were planning on enjoying the last few arns of their free time.

Ennixx kissed her husband. "Thank you."

Meric looked confused. "What for?"

"For thinking about a ship that could get us away should someone indeed be following us."

Meric shrugged. "It was partly for that reason. I was also curious about the ship's technology."

Ennixx slapped him playfully on the chest. "Why do you have to spoil this? Now I have to take back the kiss."

Meric grinned. "I will give it back gladly." His lips were covering hers before she could respond. "I was thinking we should name the ship Karinta."

Ennixx moved her head back a little to better look her husband in the eyes. Tears started to form in her own. "I think that is very good idea." She pulled herself close against him, laying her head on his shoulder, letting the tears flow. "I love you, Meric."

He tightened his arms around her. "I love you too." He hoped he would be able to get the ship up and running the very same solar day their daughter would have turned fifty, but uncertain he could manage that, he didn't tell Ennixx that part.

* * *

Meric awoke in the middle of the sleep cycle, immediately noticing his wife was not beside him. A glance in the direction of waste alcove told him she was not there either. When he looked in the other direction he saw his wife sitting at the desk in front of the small view port.

Meric got out of bed and walked up behind her. "That time of the monen again, dearest?" He kissed the top of her head before moving to sit on the desk.

Ennixx looked at him and smiled. "No... well, yes, it should be, but I do not have the visions tonight." A small sigh escaped her.

Meric grabbed her hand in his own. "Then why are you not in the bed?"

Ennixx sighed again, her focus on the vast universe outside. "There is something out there." She pointed in a direction. "Something I can sense in here." She pointed at her head this time. "It seems to call out to me, but at the same time seems very uninviting."

Meric squeezed her hand. "Dearest, you should not hide things from me. I know you are fully aware of what it is you are sensing."

Ennixx smiled. She had been hiding her true self for cycles from him, but he sensed her hiding something now. He probably had always known she had hidden something all those cycles, just never asked her about it. "Yeah, it's wormholes again. To be more accurate, one wormhole entrance, part of a small nexus, opens up every quarter arn for a few microts, and will disappear completely in two arns."

Meric nodded, his brow furrowed. "You seem to know quite a lot about this wormhole. How long did you have to sit here to decipher all of that?"

Ennixx smile vanished. "I detected this thing the microt we came in range, before it ever opened. I instantly knew all about it; when it would start its cycle, what its cycle is, where it leads to, all of it. It seems the visions I had last monen were the final set, and it probably unlocked in my brain when we came through the Center Halo."

Meric nodded again. "So, why are you sitting here now?"

Ennixx sighed. "They... feel interesting, despite the danger they represent." She felt him tense and squeezed his hand in assurance. "Do not worry, I am not planning on ever traversing one. But I would like to research them. The real thing, not just the equations my grandfather gave me."

Meric looked at her again. "What are you saying? You want to leave the Zirna when I finish the work on the Karinta?" He hoped she heard he would agree to that course of action.

Ennixx bit her lip. "I want to, but I am not sure it would be wise."

Meric chuckled. "You seem to be reverting to your life before we decided to leave the favored planet." He saw her slightly confused look. "Where is that confident wife I have gotten to know this last monen?"

Ennixx smiled. "She is still here, but she is also trying to be realistic. How would we support ourselves? Our financial status is not that promising, and while the Karinta is a large ship, it's not really good for cargo hauling. We would run out of credits in two weekens, maybe sooner."

Meric shrugged. "And? You think this will have improved in half a cycle, or even two cycles? We do not get paid much, which is the deal we accepted, work for the right to remain on the ship and eat. We are lucky to get paid something, but we would need to remain here for fifteen cycles to save enough money to hold out for longer than half a cycle. And then we will be right back were we are now, not enough money to survive."

Ennixx looked at him. "So, how do you propose we could make a living?"

Meric smiled, knowing she was already coming around to his way of thinking. "As you know, it is not uncommon for ships to break down during their travel." He saw her start to smile again, remembering their first arns in this universe. "I may be able to help them out, either try to repair them where they are or, if they need parts we do not have, we can tow them to the nearest commerce planet or station."

Meric watched her as she was thinking about his proposition. She was rubbing her thumb over her lower lip again, indicating to him she was in deep thought. He trusted she would say yes; she needed to be out there, researching these wormholes. He did wonder if she would let him know her tech knowledge was quite extensive, possibly even overshadowing his own, if he ran into a tech problem he would not be able to handle himself. Silly woman for trying to hide it from him.

"Alright, if the Karinta is ready to fly out, we will leave." Ennixx stood up and kissed Meric before turning around and walk back to their bed. As she shrugged out of her robe, letting it fall at her feet, she turned back to Meric who was following her to the bed. "I hope the Karinta has a comfortable bed."

Meric smiled as he let his hand brush over her breasts. "I am sure we can test it out before we leave."

Ennixx smiled. "Perhaps we should try to find an extensive test procedure now?"

* * *

The journey back to the station had been uneventful. Meric's shift had ended by the time they arrived at the station and he immediately went to the Karinta. He had decided to first take some time to investigate the ship, getting to know the systems and mapping out any access panels.

"Meric, could I speak with you?"

Meric turned around at hearing his Luxan friend's deep voice. "Sure T'Irna. What is it?"

T'Irna looked nervously around. "In private."

Meric had a pretty good idea what his big friend wanted to talk about. "How about if you help me in our new ship? You can talk to me there without anyone overhearing you."

T'Irna nodded. "Yes, that would be fine."

* * *

"Boran?" Ennixx entered the med facility after the head med tech had called for her.

"Ah, yes, yes, there you are. If you would follow me, please." Boran led the way to his private office.

Ennixx wondered why he had called her and why he seemed more excited and nervous than he did normally. She had allowed him to take some blood samples the first weeken they had been here and she began to worry that the man had found some illness.

Boran, completely oblivious to his companion's growing unease, ushered her in to his office and closed the door behind him. "Have a seat, have a seat."

Ennixx had learned it was best to let the med tech work up to what he needed to say at his own pace and just sat down, trying to quell her nerves.

Boran sat opposite of her at his desk and folded his hands in front of him. "She's a relative."

Ennixx had absolutely no idea who he was talking about but managed to restrain herself from asking the man anything. He was bound to continue soon.

"The DNA of the female that followed you has more in common with your non-Sebacean DNA than any of us."

Ennixx kept the relieved sigh inside. At least she didn't have an illness or something like that.

Boran looked at her. "Do you know what that means? Her species must have originated on either the same planet as your grandfather or one close to it."

"What?" Ennixx became instantly interested. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes, yes, one hundred percent sure. Each section of the universe will have had its own gene pool, a common base from which all life in that section was created. Though the Sebacean DNA does resemble that of your grandfather, there are distinct signs that indicate the origins of Sebeceans and his species differ."

Ennixx pondered this new knowledge. "You are sure there is no other explanation."

"There is one, but it seems unlikely. There are ancient tales of the Sebacean origin. They did not originate here, but were genetically modified when some unknown race brought them here. It is possible Sebaceans were modified so much that the original gene base was removed from the Sebacean DNA and replaced with the gene base that indicated the area of Sebacea."

"But that could have happened to her species as well, couldn't it?"

Boran bowed his head. "Yes, it could, but it has not."

This confused Ennixx again. "How are you so certain?"

"Because there are traces in the Sebacean DNA that show that the Sebacean genes were altered. The Peacekeepers have found these traces hundreds of cycles ago, but High Council has ordered that this knowledge was to be kept within the med tech ranks only. But these traces were not found in the female."

Ennixx sat back in her chair, trying to take this new information in. "So she may have been interested in me because she detected the same thing as you did. We have common genetic trades."

Boran nodded. "That is possible. I thought you may have wanted to know this."

Ennixx nodded. "I do." She reached over the desk and grasped his hand. "Thank you, Boran."

Boran looked at her hand and then back up at her, smiling. "You're welcome." He stood up and walked to the door.

* * *

"Should I approach her?"

Meric looked up from the panel he was examining to his Luxan friend. "Approach who and why?"

T'Irna sighed. "Rahl. About... uh... well, uh... you know."

Meric smiled slightly. "A quick frell?"

T'Irna started to blush and shook his head. "No, no. Well, yes, I am sure at some point sex would be had, but..."

Meric chuckled. "...but you love her, I know. It was pretty obvious the way you tried to impress her with that story you told. And asking her to be your sparring partner gave it away again."

T'Irna looked worriedly at him. "You think Rahl noticed it too."

Meric chuckled again. "I doubt it. She was trying to hard to impress you. I am fairly certain she feels the same way about you."

T'Irna look surprised and relieved at the same time. "She does? What signs do you base your assumption on?"

Meric shrugged. "She could not stop grinning at you in the drinking establishment. She didn't like it one bit when Ennixx was teasing you. And she didn't deny it when Ennixx told her she had noticed that she was interested in you."

T'Irna smiled. "Well, those seem to be very clear indications."

Meric laughed. "I think so too, my friend." He turned to the closed door that would give him access to a special part of the ship. "Could you help me find the access that would open up this door?"

When Meric did not get an answer he turned around. "T'Irna?" He smiled when he noticed his friend had left him. "I guess you have more important things to do, my friend." He turned back to the wall section to see if he could locate the access panel or button that would open the door.

"Who has more important things to do, and why was T'Irna practically walking right through me?"

Meric chuckled at his wife's description. "You already answered the who part. T'Irna is on his way to Rahl, I think."

Ennixx's arms snaked around her husband's waist. "So, you were successful then?"

Meric nodded. "Mm-hmm, but he actually started about this thing himself. And, no, he's not interested in just a quick frell."

Ennixx chuckled. "I am glad you made certain of that. I hope Rahl will not turn him away because she gets too nervous." She paused a bit before telling Meric the news she had just gotten. "That female that pursued us? She was after me, but not because of this wormhole knowledge."

Meric turned his head around momentarily. "Oh? Why was she following you then?" He turned back again, still trying to locate the mechanism that would open it.

"Boran told me that she and I share a considerable amount of genes. So much that he is confident that her species is from the same area of space my grandfather originated from."

Meric snorted. "So, you believe she was just waiting for a chance to say hello and talk about genes and places of origin?"

Ennixx shook her head, even though Meric didn't look her way. "No, I am sure she had other intentions, and she still might have been a bounty hunter, but the genetic thing seems far more likely."

Ennixx got the feeling her husband wasn't really listening to her, so she moved her hands to the hem of his shirt and started to move her hands over the skin under his shirt, taking the shirt along as she traveled further up his torso. She moved her hands to his back, lifting his shirt up as far as she could, before she started to plant kisses on his back.

Meric turned around. "Dearest, I am trying to work on something here."

Ennixx halted her kissing momentarily. "So am I." She continued to trace a path of kisses along his chest.

"I love you, but I really want to find the mechanism that would open this door." Meric moved a bit to the side, trying to find a slightly more comfortable position, realizing Ennixx would not stop unless there was a fire or they were under attack. He hoped neither of those situations would occur, far too much enjoying what his wife was doing to him.

Ennixx stopped her kisses when she heard the door cycle open and looked at it. She looked back at Meric's face and grinned. "Anything else you need my help in finding?"

Meric looked, half dazed, at the open door and tried to map out where he was touching some section of the ship. It could not be his hands, since they were already wrapped around his wife, so that left his back or his feet.

Ennixx had let go of him to see where the door would lead to. "Uh, I think you should see this, my love."

Meric, having found a pressure sensitive section in the wall were his back had been, turned back to her. "What is it?"

"A nice big bed." She smiled as turned around to him. "Didn't you promise me we would test it out?"


	6. Episode 6: Times, They are Changing

**Episode 6: Times, they are changing.**  
Timeline: During _...Different Destinations  
_

* * *

Ennixx was on her way to Rahl's quarters, intending to invite her to their daily exercise. Meric had decided to do some more work on the Karinta before his shift started. That poor man had spend nearly every free microt of the last three solar days repairing and learning the ship's systems, often accompanied by T'Irna.

Ennixx arrived at her friend's quarters and pressed the door chime. It took nearly fifteen microts before Rahl opened the door. She was draped in nothing more than bed sheets, still slightly panting and sweating.

Ennixx smiled as she fought down the urge to tease her friend; it didn't look like Rahl would be joining her this morning, nor would T'Irna be helping out Meric at the moment.

Rahl returned the smile, blushing slightly. " Ennixx..."

"Rahl. I wanted to ask you to join me for our daily exercise."

Rahl shook her head. "I'm sorry Ennixx, but I can't. My shift starts in a half arn."

Ennixx nodded, though she was aware that Rahl had the same shift she did, and it wasn't for another two arns. "Alright. Perhaps we could exercise later today, after my shift?"

Rahl nodded. "Yes, I am available then."

"Perfect, I'll comm you when I'm ready and you can meet me there." Ennixx turned around but looked back over her shoulder. "Oh, and could you ask T'Irna if he has some time left to help Meric before their shift starts?"

She smiled as she caught a glimpse of Rahl's deepening blush just as the door closed. _Meric is right_, Ennixx silently admitted to herself, _I love to tease people_. She walked towards the exercise room alone. She was in the mood for some exertion and, since Meric was otherwise occupied, a solitary exercise would have to suffice.

* * *

"She knows." Rahl turned around after the door had closed and walked straight to the refreshing chamber where she knew T'Irna was hiding.

T'Irna sighed. "Yes, I heard her last remark." He paused. "She did that deliberately too, I think."

Rahl nodded. "She even smiled when she saw I started to blush."

T'Irna looked at her and smiled. "It probably was not a wise decision of you to say your shift starts in a half arn when you in fact share patrol duty with her today."

Rahl chuckled. "Frell, forgot about that." She looked down at herself and took in her appearance. "I guess opening the door wearing this may have indicated something as well." She looked back up at him. "Are you going to help Meric?"

T'Irna nodded. "Yes, but first I'll need a shower."

Rahl grinned up at him. "You need any help?"

"Why would I need help with something I've been doing myself..."

Rahl let the bed sheets fall on the floor, deciding he needed to be shown the benefits of sharing a shower.

"Oh. Perhaps I could use some help with the... ah... hard to reach places."

* * *

When Ennixx had arrived at the exercise room, Birna, a female ex-Peacekeeper was just warming up. Ennixx had known her from the first day she had started her combat training. Birna had won most, if not all, of the matches during the first weeken of training. After that, Birna and Ennixx hadn't seen each other during training or exercise sessions and Ennixx felt confident she could now offer more resistance. Birna had agreed to spar and was now talking about a planet a few systems away.

"A peace memorial?"

Birna nodded as she tried to sidestep Ennixx' driving punch. She grunted as the punch connected anyway, even though not at the intended point. "Yes, we were taught about it during Peacekeeper training."

Ennixx sidestepped Birna's first counter punch but failed to see the second and got hit hard in the ribs. When she saw Birna immediately step out of her sparring stance, she raised her hand. "I'm fine, nothing broken."

Birna nodded once in apparent approval and resumed the stance. "Approximately five hundred cycles ago a battle took place. On the one side there were the Veniks and on the other side a number of Jocacian nurses, under protection of a Peacekeeper detachment that had found them."

"Do you remember what the battle was about?" Ennixx, having paid just as much attention to the story as her opponent's movements, realized the seemingly open area in Birna's defense was a trap. She feigned an attack with her left hand on that area and switched into a right kick as soon as Birna moved to launch a counter strike.

Birna grunted as Ennixx' kick connected to her side. "Water."

Ennixx, seeing the attack coming but unable to avoid it completely, moved to block Birna's punch as best as she could while stepping backwards to minimize the force of the punch. "Water? Was there some kind of water shortage?"

Birna nodded. "Yes, the Veniks depended on water from one of the rivers, but as it dried up, they wanted access to a stream inside the mountain where the nurses were."

Ennixx attempted another attack, but unfortunately missed. "So, how was peace achieved?"

"Subofficer Dacon, one of the greatest heroes of Peacekeeper history, managed to initiate peace talks while he was nearly bleeding to death."

Ennixx was once again hit near her ribs and winced. She paused two microts, testing if she could still move without too much pain and then resumed her stance. "Do you know if it is based on fact?" Ennixx was well aware that all the former Peacekeepers aboard the Zirna had doubts about all they were taught by the Peacekeepers.

Birna nodded again. "Yes, it is. At first I doubted it, after I had left the Peacekeepers that is, but nearly a cycle ago the Zirna passed the memorial and we went to see it."

Ennixx halted the rest of Birna's explanation by breaking through the latter's defenses with a driving punch followed by a swift kick to her mid section.

Birna went down and grimaced as she landed. "Didn't see that one coming."

Ennixx smiled down at her and extended her arm to help Birna get up again. "I'm glad I was able to surprise you."

Birna grabbed the offered arm and pulled herself up. "Frell, that was a powerful combination, Ennixx. You have really improved this monen."

Ennixx beamed at the praise. "Thanks. Shall we do some cool-down exercises? My shift starts in an arn and I want to freshen up before that too."

Birna nodded and followed Ennixx off the sparring mats. "Anyway, as I was telling, we went to the memorial. They have goggles there that allow you to witness the event. Initially we all thought it was a simulation, created by the Peacekeepers, but the Pa'u that joined us explained that the device created a tear in time that allowed you to see the events as they really happened."

Ennixx made sure not to show her peaked interest, but hearing there was a device at a peace memorial that created a tear in time was an exciting idea. She wanted to investigate the device, see how it created the tear while making sure the surroundings were not affected. Her mind was already going over the possible equations involved, deriving new ones from the multitude of equations she had been given during the last five cycles.

"Ennixx? Are you alright?"

Ennixx returned back to the here and now upon hearing Birna's inquiry and nodded. "Yeah, just thinking about the peace memorial and what has happened there."

In silence the two completed the cool-down exercises. Ennixx' mind was continuously thinking about the interesting anomaly, not too far from here.

* * *

Meric was working silently, and alone, on the power core of the Karinta. The fact that the Zirna had been able to deplete it in just under an arn without the occupant even getting a warning that something was wrong, was disturbing him. He was almost certain it all had to do with the coupling system which, inherently, would provide any amount of power needed to the cargo attached to it. A fail safe system to give a warning when the power output crossed a certain threshold would be an addition that would make the Karinta safer against other attacks trying to use the same technique. 

Meric turned around as he heard someone approaching and smiled at his Luxan friend. "Hi, T'Irna. I'm glad you came, because I need your strength with getting this section out."

T'Irna nodded and moved in position to help Meric lift a chunk of the power core.

Meric grabbed his side of the core. "Alright, on the count of three, we lift and move it a motra in that direction." He jerked with his head in the direction he wanted the section to be moved. "Ready? One... two... three!"

They lifted the section with more ease than either had expected, moved it to its temporary location and put it down again.

Meric looked up at T'Irna again. "Well, that was less heavy than I expected."

T'Irna nodded again but didn't say a word.

Meric grabbed his friends shoulder. "Everything alright? You haven't said anything. Rahl didn't turn you down, did she? You haven't talked about it, but I know you went to talk to her."

T'Irna sighed. "No, she did not turn me down. You were right. She was interested in me romantically, but, like me, unsure on how to approach the subject."

Meric nodded. "So, why are you so quiet?"

T'Irna looked away briefly and then turned back to Meric. "Last night we, ah, we shared the bed together."

Meric looked worriedly at his friend. "I thought Baniks are like Sebaceans and that Luxans and Sebacean, and by extension Baniks, are physically compatible? Is that incorrect?"

T'Irna shook his head. "No, we are physically compatible." A smile appeared on his face. "Definitely compatible."

This time Meric shook his head. "Than what is the problem, my friend? You have a woman who loves you as much as you love her and you are physically compatible."

T'Irna sighed again. "I am worried about what the others will think of a Luxan and Banik in a relationship."

Meric frowned. "Who the frell cares what the others think about it? As long as you two are happy, shouldn't that be enough? Besides, with all the different species aboard the Zirna, I doubt others will give it any second thought."

"It is true that the former Peacekeepers aboard the Zirna accept me as a fellow crew member, but I am not so sure they, or any of the other species, will be so accepting of a relationship between two different species."

"If that is the case, I want to know about it."

Meric and T'Irna both turned to see their Captain having arrived unexpectedly.

Shamur smiled at them. "I will not tolerate such behavior and I believe the crew knows about that too."

"Yes, sir."

Shamur nodded and focused his attention on T'Irna. "You do realize, of course, that I am particularly fond of Rahl."

"Sir, I would die before I would let anything happen to her."

Shamur smiled. "I know you mean well, but I wanted to let you know that I want what's best for her as well. Which brings me to what I came here for." He turned his gaze towards Meric. "We have a spare scanner available that keeps track of the trace elements of the gauntlet weapon. I have decided to give it to you so you can install it in this vessel."

Meric's eyes widened. He had not expected this at all, but it would probably be a welcome addition, should Ennixx decide she want to stay close to her grandparents. Just as Meric wanted to thank the captain, the latter raised his hand.

"Wait, I do have one favor to ask in return. At such time you and your wife decide to leave us, which I suspect will be as soon as you finished your work on this ship, I want you to take Rahl and T'Irna with you, provided both agree."

Meric looked confused. "You want us to take them with us? Why?" It didn't seem to make any sense.

Shamur smiled. "It's very simple. Rahl has been aboard the Zirna for many cycles. I know she likes it here, but she also gets bored with the simple freighter jobs we take. It got better once she had met your wife, and they seem to get along very well together."

Shamur raised his hand again to forestall the argument. "T'Irna, while very valuable in the two cycles he's been with us, can be missed from our crew, as can you. Since he and Rahl are in a relationship, it's only logical he will go with her."

Meric looked at T'Irna. It would be great to have him and Rahl along when they would leave. Both Rahl and T'Irna were aware of his wife's unique situation, T'Irna was his best friend and Rahl was Ennixx' and the new couple would certainly have nothing to worry about undue behavior towards them. "There is enough room for additional quarters for you and Rahl. I plan on providing repair services from this ship to any vessel with technical damages and I know I could use your help."

T'Irna first looked at the captain and then at Meric. "If Rahl agrees, we will join you."

* * *

Ennixx had joined Rahl in a Nebari Glider and told her about the story Birna had told. The entire incident of that morning at Rahl's quarters was not mentioned by either.

Rahl nodded. "Yes, I was there too, but the Pa'u warned me not to use the goggles. Apparently my energy could destabilize the time tear." She paused as she ran a systems check. "I spoke with Dehrish before my shift started, and she told me Moya is now orbiting the planet. It's possible that your grandparents are now at the memorial, observing the final attack and the peace talks."

"I would like to see the memorial myself." Ennixx wisely left out her real reason for going there.

"You'll probably get a chance to do so later." Rahl paused. "Are you going to leave the Zirna when Meric's finished with your ship?" Rahl wasn't looking forward to this prospect. In the short time the Sebacean couple had been aboard, she had grown to like them both, but Ennixx especially, who had grown to be the best friend she had ever had.

Ennixx sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Meric and I both think it would be better not to linger too long aboard the Zirna, before the entire crew will be jeopardized because of my heritage."

"Oh."

Ennixx heard the disappointment in Rahl's voice. Truthfully, Ennixx wasn't looking forward to leaving Rahl either. But maybe there was a good solution to this problem. "You know, Rahl, there's enough room on our ship for you and T'Irna, if you want to join us. I'm sure Meric wouldn't mind. He could use T'Irna's help with his new job. He's going to provide repair services to vessels that have broken down. And I'm sure we'll find something to do ourselves." Like testing her theoretical knowledge of wormhole with the real thing. That would involve a lot of scanning, running simulations.

Rahl contemplated the offer. On the one hand, she was looking forward to the change, as she found the job she had on the Zirna becoming increasingly more boring. On the other hand, she didn't want to leave captain Shamur. She owed him a lot, not in the least for saving her from the madness. She sighed. "I don't know, Ennixx. It sounds great, but I'm not sure I can leave the Zirna just like that. And T'Irna might not want to leave either, and I'm not going to leave him behind."

Ennixx nodded. "I understand. Just think about it. Talk about it with T'Irna." She paused. "I'd really miss you if you didn't come."

* * *

Ennixx was pacing across the quarters while Meric sat on the bed, listening to her.

"You agree with that, don't you?" Ennixx looked nervously at her husband. "I know we haven't talked about it, but Rahl's my best friend and T'Irna's yours, and I'm not sure if we should be all alone out there."

Meric had begun to smile at her nervous look and the initial confession. He started to chuckle when she moved into babbling.

"And there's enough room on our ship so they won't be in the way. And they also know about me, though we may need to tell them there's a bit more to it than we have let on, but we know... What?" Ennixx finally realized her husband was chuckling and having quite some fun with this.

Meric grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her on the bed beside him. He put his arms around her and kissed her. "I've already asked T'Irna if they would like to come with us." He paused. "Actually, captain Shamur bribed me in taking them with us."

Ennixx frowned. "Bribed? How? And why does he want T'Irna and Rahl to go with us?"

Meric smiled. "In order of asking." Meric raised his hand and ticked of the questions Ennixx had asked. "Yes. He gave us spare scanner so we can keep track of your grandparents, and he knows that Rahl is often bored with the tasks she can do here and that you and she are friends."

Ennixx nodded. "I see. So he wants her to be happy. Does that mean he also knows about T'Irna and Rahl's relationship?"

Meric went serious. "Yes, he overheard T'Irna telling me he's afraid what others aboard the Zirna would think about a Luxan and Banik relationship..."

"Oh, that's ridiculous! Who cares what other people will think, if they mind anyway. Besides, the captain wouldn't stand for it, I think."

Meric nodded. "Exactly what I said. The first part I mean. The captain indicated he indeed didn't stand for that behavior."

"So, they're coming with us."

"If Rahl agrees, yes."

* * *

"Why are you so worried about what the others think about our relationship?"

T'Irna sighed. "Rahl, in the past, a Luxan in a relationship with another species has always been frowned upon, especially when it involves male Luxans. A relationship with a male is difficult enough when it's with a Luxan female. Most species don't like the idea of any of their women seeing a Luxan male."

"In the past." Rahl looked pointedly at T'Irna. "That's what you said. That has nothing to do with us, nor with the others aboard the Zirna."

"But a good portion of them are Peacekeepers..."

"_Former_ Peacekeepers."

"But they have been brought up with Peacekeeper beliefs."

"And when they came here, they've learned otherwise. Have they ever said anything bad to you, treated you like you were less than any of them?"

T'Irna shook his head. "No, but that doesn't mean they won't start once they find out I'm in a relationship with you."

"Why would they? If they already treat you like their equal, why would they start now?"

"Because they may have learned about the one Luxan-Sebacean marriage that ended in the death of the Sebacean woman."

"What?"

T'Irna sighed again. "He married quite young and hadn't learned to control his Hyper-rage. Young Luxan males, as they reach maturity, are confronted with a state of pure anger and violence. They're unable to control themselves, and never remember what they did while in this state. Normally, you get taught how to prevent from going into actual Hyper-rage, tempering the violent thoughts and channeling them into something more constructive."

"And this male hadn't learned how to do that and killed her in this state?"

T'Irna nodded. "Yes. Unfortunately, the Sebacean woman was the sister of a conscripted Peacekeeper and the Luxan male was arrested for murder."

"I see. But I'm sure these _former_ Peacekeepers won't harm you or threaten you."

"Perhaps. But I'd still feel better if we would leave with Meric and Ennixx."

Rahl went to the Luxan and hugged him close. "Ennixx did invite us." She paused. "The captain really suggested this to you?" She felt him nod. "In that case, I agree. We will go with our friends." She moved back a little to look him in the eyes. "But I still think nobody would bother us if they knew about our relationship."

* * *

"Stupid frelling Zenetans. You'd think they've figured out by now they're not going to win these attacks." Shamur sighed and turned to the comms officer and signaled he wanted ship-wide comms. "Attention all hands. We have detected the Flax net. Counter offense protocols are now in effect."

Meric moaned after the captain's message. "Why now?"

Ennixx slapped him playfully. "We'll continue this later, I promise."

"At this rate, we'll never be able to complete the testing of this bed before we leave."

Ennixx giggled. "I think we've put the bed through quite a lot these past few solar days. It hasn't collapsed yet and it's comfortable." She got off of him and dressed hurriedly. "I'll be in the Nebari Glider with Rahl. I promise I'll deal with these frellniks quickly."

Meric, never tiring of watching his wife dress or undress, looked up at her. "Just be careful, alright? I've got a bad feeling about this."

Ennixx moved back to the bed and kissed him. "You worry for nothing, my love. I've dealt with these Zenetan attacks before. Nothing's going to happen." She kissed him again and turned around to walk towards the exit. Before she stepped through the door she looked back at him. "Will you be here or in our quarters on the Zirna?"

"Here. Might as well see if I can work some more on the navigation console while I wait for you. I doubt I'm needed at this point."

Ennixx nodded. "Alright. See you later, my love." She looked back ahead and stepped out.

Meric sighed when she was out of earshot. "Just be careful, dearest. I need you with me."

* * *

Rahl moved behind her tactical console, muttering the whole time. "These frellniks and their frelled-up timing. Couldn't they've waited an arn longer?"

Ennixx chuckled at her friends grumbling. "You sound just like Meric." She paused and turned to look at her. "But I agree with both of you." She turned back and powered up the navigation console and the engine.

"So I take it you want to deal with them as quickly as possible?"

Ennixx lifted off the deck and piloted the Glider out of the docking bay. "Definitely."

* * *

"Frelling piece of dren!"

"It sounds like you can use my help."

Meric turned around and nodded at T'Irna. "Yes, because this piece of dren that's supposed to be the navigation console is not cooperating."

The Luxan grunted and stepped closer. "Did you place the talron modules in the correct direction? I seem to recall we switched the power flow direction around a bit to improve efficiency."

"Frell!" Meric let the exclamation follow by a sigh as he started to reopen the access panels.

* * *

"Captain! Another flax-net has been activated. We are now trapped."

"Is the Nebari Glider still operating?"

"We don't know, sir. Our sensors are not working, nor are the comms."

Shamur sighed and rubbed his head. "There's not much we can do. We'll have to wait until the Zenetans board us. Hopefully the Glider is still mobile and able to defend us."

* * *

"Ennixx? Are you alright?"

Ennixx shook her head first to clear it. "Yeah, I think so. What the frell happened?"

"Another flax-net was activated. The Zirna is now trapped, as are the other patrolling vessels. We seem to be mobile still, but we have sustained some damages when the second flax-net was activated."

Ennixx nodded and looked outside. "Well, at least we're not stuck. Why did we come to a sudden stop?"

"We were right in the small overlapping area of the two flax-nets. Both have a slightly different phase and it overloaded the flax-net shield."

Ennixx nodded again. "I wonder why the Nebari needed a flax-net shield. Didn't Riole say these shields were standard on Nebari vessels?"

Rahl nodded. "She did. I've been wondering the same thing though. The Zenetan pirates make sure they're as far away from Nebari controlled space as possible. Power is back up. Engines are back to seventy percent. Comms are still out. Sensors operational at only ten percent. Flax-net shield is back at one hundred percent."

"What do you suggest? Go look for the Zenetans or stay close to the Zirna?"

Rahl shrugged. "If we stay right here, the Zenetans might think we're stuck as well. Once we move they know they have to deal with us. On the other hand, staying here isn't going to do us much good. We seem to be leaking a tiny amount of cesium fuel. At this rate we'll be out of fuel in... two arns."

"So we go back to the Zirna."

Rahl shook her head. "No, we can't. We would need to cross over to the other flax-net. I don't think our systems can handle another one of those barriers."

Ennixx looked outside, narrowing her eyes, then glanced at her navigation console. "We're moving away from the Zirna."

Rahl looked at her console. "Impossible. The engines are dead and we're not moving any further away from the edge of the flax-net."

"Either that or the Zirna is moving away from us."

Rahl looked up and out the portal. "Frell me dead. The Zirna's engines are also off line. The other patrol vessels are also moving away." She looked back at her console. "We are moving away from them but not on our own power. The flax-net is dragging us away."

* * *

Meric and T'Irna were sitting on the floor of the Karinta, testing dozens of talron modules.

T'Irna muttered his whole progress as he went. "This one is frelled." He tossed the small talron module over his shoulder and picked up another one and tested it. "Working but not within normal limits." He placed it with three others lying to his left.

Meric looked in T'Irna's direction. "I can understand why the modules we took from the navigation console could be defective, but why would anyone keep dozens of spare ones with only a small number of them working properly?"

T'Irna shrugged. "It's possible the previous owner needed to replace them regularly." He nodded in the direction of the console. "That thing wasn't built very well, so a lot of the modules could have burned out."

Meric nodded. "Maybe, but why keep the frelling things in the same storage container as the working ones?"

"What makes you think that container contained working modules? All evidence clearly points in the direction of defective modules. In all likelihood the previous owner probably never realized that not all the modules she removed were actually defective. That's the last one." T'Irna put the module among the other properly working modules.

Meric sighed. "For me too." He looked at T'Irna's pile of working modules and his own. "At least it's enough for the console, with a handful of spares."

T'Irna grunted. "With any luck, they'll last more than a few monens. If you'll place the working modules back in the console, I'll get rid of these defective modules."

Meric nodded, stood up and grabbed a handful of the talron modules. He walked over to the console and began the process of placing nearly a dozen modules in their proper locations.

"Oh, and do try to put them in the correct direction this time."

Meric smiled at his friend's obvious joke but didn't comment. His mind was starting to wonder how his wife was doing. He'd hoped to receive some of the communications between the patrol vessels and the Zirna but he hadn't heard a thing yet. He glanced in the direction of the comms unit to make sure it was still active. The blinking light told him comms were in receiving mode. Perhaps they were maintaining comms silence for now.

* * *

"We're really the ones getting pulled away, right? It's not the Zirna being pulled away from us?"

Rahl shook her head. "No, Ennixx, it really is us. If you look at your treblin side, you'll see a planetoid moving in the same direction and speed as the Zirna and other patrol vessels."

Ennixx looked to her side and saw Rahl was right; they were the ones moving. "Frell! What do you think we should do? See where they're taking us or fly the frell out of here?"

"Though I don't really want to know were they're taking us, I have to advise against powering up our engine at the moment."

Ennixx's head snapped around to look at Rahl. "What? Why?"

"The flax-net has... an interesting effect on the cesium leak. As soon as it leaves our flax shield, it stops moving. There's quite a buildup near the thrusters."

"So? Cesium isn't flammable, is it?"

"Not unless it's mixed with water. I'm not sure how, but rocks of ice have formed among the cesium fuel."

Ennixx frowned. "Are we leaking water as well?"

Rahl shook her head. "No, not a single drop has leaked out."

"Water wouldn't form naturally. Either we put the water there or they did."

Rahl looked again at her console. "It's not us from what I can tell."

"Which means they knew we could leave. They want us." She paused. "Or me."

* * *

"Sir, the flax-net has been deactivated."

Shamur looked at the crewman. "Everything working again?"

"Yes sir. Patrol vessels are also powering up. Sir, the pilot of the Prowler reports the Nebari Glider was being pulled away. They're out of visual range and at the edge of her sensors." He paused. "They're no longer on sensors, sir."

Shamur closed his eyes. "Who's on the Nebari Glider?"

"Rahl and Ennixx, sir."

"Frell."

* * *

"T'Irna!" Meric looked back at were his friend just walked back in. "Did you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"The comms just now! They said the Nebari Glider was pulled away from the Zirna. Ennixx and Rahl were in the Glider, weren't they?"

T'Irna nodded. "Yes, Rahl said she and Ennixx would be in the Glider, and would be the safest of us all."

Meric bowed his head and sighed as he closed his eyes.

T'Irna stepped closer and clasped his shoulder. "She and Rahl will be fine. You know both Ennixx and Rahl are good fighters and shooters."

T'Irna didn't fool Meric. He could sense the worry his friend felt for Rahl. He nodded anyway. "Yeah, you're right." He turned around suddenly. "I want to get this ship in flying condition in a quarter of an arn." He saw the dubious look on T'Irna's face. "The navigation console is working, we have fuel, engines, everything we need, except for the main power. We can assemble that power unit within that time, I know we can."

"And do what? Go after them? We can't do much with this thing."

"Yes we can. You integrated the Luxan Deception Shroud. I've already added some weapons."

"But you'd get caught in the flax-net."

Meric and T'Irna were once again surprised by their captain's unexpected visit. "Sir?" Both replied simultaneously.

"Our final sensor data show that they were trapped inside a flax-net."

Meric frowned. "But the Glider isn't affected by the flax-net."

"Not usually. From what we were able to gather, the second flax-net that held us was activated at the moment Ennixx and Rahl entered the first flax-net. It's possible that the two flax-nets overlapped a bit, which may have damaged their ship."

T'Irna nodded slowly. "It's possible, but the Nebari Glider is powerful. Even if their systems were down, they'd be back online by now, especially the flax shield."

"There were indications of cesium and water buildup near the thrusters."

"Which prevents them from activating their engine." Meric nodded. "Sir, we can still go after them in this ship." He looked down. "I copied the Glider's flax shield. I'm fairly certain it's working."

Shamur nodded. "Alright. Is there anything you need before take of?"

Meric shook his head. "No, we only need to assemble the power unit and we can leave."

Shamur nodded again. "Alright, you have my permission. The Zirna has set a course to follow them, though as long as we can't get them back on sensors, there's no telling if we're still on the right course." He turned around and left the two men.

* * *

Ennixx, realizing they couldn't do much about their current situation, turned her seat to face Rahl. "So, have you talked to T'Irna about coming with us?"

Rahl turned her seat as well and nodded. "Yes, we will go with you. As Meric probably told you, T'Irna isn't comfortable with idea of staying aboard the Zirna now that he and I are in a relationship."

Ennixx nodded. "Yeah, but I think he's worrying for nothing."

"I said the same to him, but he did tell me why the former Peacekeepers aboard might be opposed. Luxan males are prone to hyper-rage attacks. At one time a young male who hadn't learned how to control the attack, killed his Sebacean wife. She was the brother of a conscripted Peacekeeper and the Peacekeepers arrested the Luxan."

Ennixx had started to frown. "I've heard that story before." She searched in her memory for the reference. "I remember! Nana told me about it. That Luxan male is Ka D'Argo. But he claims he didn't kill his wife and that her brother did it so he could arrest D'Argo. I suppose that it's not unlikely."

* * *

"Done." Meric wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Could you run a systems check while I close the unit?"

"Consider it done."

Meric replaced the side panels as he heard T'Irna activating various systems one by one. Meric secured the last panel at the same time T'Irna finished the system checks.

"All systems operational within normal operating parameters."

Meric moved to the front and took his place in the pilot's seat. "Let's see if I obtained basic piloting skills." He activated the engine, lifted off the deck and carefully piloted out of the bay. "T'Irna, activate the Deception Shroud. If any of the Zenetan pirates are still out there, I don't want them to spot us."

T'Irna punched a few controls. "Deception Shroud activated. Working at ninety-five percent."

Meric turned to T'Irna and arched an eyebrow. "Ninety-five?"

T'Irna shrugged. "It'll do. We could almost land on top of them and they wouldn't notice. I'll fix it later."

* * *

"So that's basically what we'll be doing." Ennixx looked at Rahl. "Still interested?"

Rahl nodded. "Mm-hmm, sounds a lot more interesting than my tasks aboard the Zirna." She shook her head. "I can't believe you're able to sense these phenomena."

Ennixx sighed and looked out the frontal port. "Neither can I. But it'll help us in our research." She turned back. "You do understand that some people will be after me, don't you? It'll be dangerous at times."

Rahl nodded and grinned. "And we'll fight our way out of trouble."

Suddenly the Glider lurched and started to move ahead. Ennixx and Rahl both turned back to their consoles.

"We're moving towards the barrier and away from the ice rocks," Rahl reported. "We're still leaking cesium but in a few microts we'll be able to power up our engine."

Ennixx looked at her. "Not to sound ungrateful, but how the frell can we move?"

Rahl studied her console at length and finally shrugged. "No idea. There's no indication of anything pushing or pulling us."

Ennixx frowned and then shrugged as well. "Who gives a frell. We're getting out. Is it safe to power up the engines?"

Rahl nodded. "Yes, we're at a safe distance."

Ennixx punched a few controls and the engines came on line. "Let's get the frell out of here."

"Were you girls having fun?" 

Ennixx activated her comms. "Meric? Where are you?"

"Right in front of you." At the same time, the new ship appeared in front of them. "We got her fully operational." He paused. "Almost."

* * *

T'Irna diverted his gaze from the ship to Meric. "Why would one name a ship 'Karinta'? That's the stupidest name I have ever heard."

"T'Irna!" Rahl slapped his arm. "How can you say that?"

T'Irna looked confused to his other side where Rahl stood. "What's wrong with saying that?"

Rahl reached up to whisper in his ear. "Their daughter was named Karinta. She died at a very young age."

T'Irna turned back to the Sebacean couple. "Oh, I ah, I'm sorry."

Ennixx smiled a sad smile. "It's alright. You didn't know this name means so much to us."

Rahl moved behind T'Irna and Meric to stand next to Ennixx, wanting to give her more support. Hugging her, Rahl asked, "When will we be leaving?"

"Tomorrow, while the Zirna is loading its last shipment for the space station."

* * *

Ennixx stood near the entrance of the exercise room, watching as Meric sparred with Birna. She loved watching him move around on the mat. His muscular build had always been a point of admiration for her, but especially when he moved around, with his torso bare and his body all tensed up for the match.

Tonight Ennixx was paying less attention to his physique and more to the tale Birna was telling, a slight frown forming as the story progressed.

"And then the Venik Horde slaughtered the defenseless nurses and children. The Peacekeeper the Horde were looking for, I don't remember his name, was not there nor was there any log of one with that name being sent that way for assistance."

Ennixx' frown deepened and turned away. "What have you done?" She shook her head after the whispered question and walked to their quarters. Visiting the memorial might not be such a good idea after all.

* * *

**Author's note:** This is as far as I have gotten with this series. Episode 7 is still somewhere around the 50 done point, as it has been for well over a year. I'll be posting some more of my older stories later, and maybe something more recent. 


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